The Other Lazarus Project
by dzha4225
Summary: Rated M for extreme gore and blood. And for eating aliens. (ME2 AU, Assassin's Creed/ Terraria Crossover) Cerberus tried all the tech they had and still couldn't revive Jane F. Shepard genetically as a Pure Human. Now they have to found another way. Could Jane F. Shepard withstand being revived as a Sentient, male, virus of the other Video Game in her time?
1. Chapter 1

**Mass Effect 2- Origins** **Normandy SR1-6 months after the Battle of the Citadel**

Jeff "Joker" Moreau: "Entering the Amada System- detected Geth activity."

"Stealth mode active."

Jane F. Shepard: "After this assignment- we could enjoy our shore leave for this entire year."

Joker: "I see their ship- open fire."

The Normandy SR1 fired it's torpedoes toward the stray Geth transport, which is quickly blown into pieces by the Normandy's upgraded torpedo and cannon fire.

Jane F. Shepard: "Good Job! Now we just have to leave this place and enjoy our shore leave-Joker, Plot course to the nearest Mass Relay."

Jeff "Joker" Moreau: "Wait... There is another ship that were appearing 7 o'clock from behind us..."

The Collector Vessel have fired- and a beam of yellow-gold particles punched right through Normandy SR1's kinetic barriers- and the barriers not even flicking a bit as Particle beams are not based on Kinetic energy.

Joker: "We got fired on by an unknown vessel- Kinetic Barriers are now down! Evasive Maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!"

The Normandy SR1 squeaked and squealed under the stress of all four of it's main engines firing in an attempt to evade the fire from the unknown vessel. But as particle beams travel near the speed of light- up to 99.97 percent C for your average desktop particle accelerators, or in this case, the unknown particle accelerators used by the Collector Vessel, the Normandy SR1 is not going to evade the next shot.

A massive golden beam plunged right through the CIC of Normandy SR1, and the artificial gravity of the ship have failed.

Commander Jane F. Shepard engaged the magnetic boots under her feet, and start to walk, slowly yet steadily, toward the Cockpit and Jeff "Joker" Moreau.

Joker: "All Crew, Get to the escape pods! Right Now! We have to abandon the ship!"

Jane F. Shepard: "Joker, you have to get to the escape pods, now!"

Joker: "No- we may be able to save her, we just have to- I can't leave yet until the last of my crew was safe."

Jane F Shepard carried the last of the crew member to the escape pod, and then proceed to lug Joker into the pod as well.

However, just as Shepard put him inside the escape pod and set up the pod for launch, another golden beam sliced right through what's remained of the connection between the Normandy's cockpit and the rest of the ship- Leaving Jane F. Shepard stranded on the other side of the ship.

The crippled frigate soon exploded in a fireball, leaving Shepard drifting away slowly, slowly, slowly toward the planet of Alchera.

**In the year of 2016, GenTek created a new retroviral agent that was promised to enable instant regeneration, tolerance toward extreme environments and end world hunger by enabling it****'****s user to essentially use anything organic as his/her food source, absorbing it by just being contact with it. The original agent came from a natural strain that were found in the archives of the U.S. military, strain DX-1117BE ****"****Forced Evolution MK1 ****'****Redlight****'"****, and were later engineered into what****'****s known as DX-1118ABC ****"****U-V Original****"****. Animal tests were promising... Until the creator of the agent, Alex ****"****Zeus****"**** Mercer, decided to test it on himself. It did not play out well in the rest of the New York City.** **At the peak of the original event, an enigmatic organization, ****"****Blackwatch****"**** intervened by deployment of multiple high-yield thermobaric weapons into the zone that was now infected and turned into a giant Tyranid hive. **

**Alex ****"****Zeus****"**** Mercer, who have miraculously survived his ****"****test****"**** and were successful by his own standard, tried his best to contain the Outbreak, which was revealed to be the result of a containment breach of DX-1117BE and what****'****s known as Elizabeth ****"****Mother****"**** Greene. With the collaboration of the first ever Evolved and the military, Elizabeth ****"****Mother****"**** Greene was defeated and eaten alive by Alex ****"****Zeus****"**** Mercer. However, Blackwatch intervened by deploying a high-yield nuclear bomb near the center of the Infection- In the hope of completely eradicating what****'****s left of the Infected and conceal what really happened to their own pet bioweapon when it breached containment and put all the blame to GenTek. Alex ****"****Zeus****"**** Mercer barely saved the New York City and exposed Blackwatch by taking the nuke out toward the Atlantic on a helicopter, blowing himself into bits in the process.**

**Like everyone know in the ending of [PROTOTYPE], Alex ****"****Zeus****"**** Mercer managed to piece himself back together after eating/consuming the biomass/energy from a crow that was stupid enough to pick at what****'****s left of him. Little to other people****'****s knowledge, another secret organization, known as ****"****Cerberus****"****, took another bit of the first Evolved in history, preserved the sample on ice, and started their own development of what was known today as the DFEV ****"****Blacklight****"**** of the Terminus Systems.**

**In the year of 2018, A pissed off Alex Mercer, after discovering that he could turn other humans into beings like himself- The Evolved, by infecting them using his own strain DX-1119DEF ****"****Mercer****"**** with a moderate success rate, and learned about the presence of the Knights Templar- that was intended to control and subjugate the entirety of Humanity using what was known as Pieces Of Eden, decided to deal with the threat by spreading the Mercer Virus to the rest of Humanity, starting with New York, saving some rather than losing all.** **Of course, his actions are not approved by the majority of the U.S. nor the U.S. Military, and soon after the second Outbreak of the Mercer Virus, one of the newly created Evolved, James Heller, who knew nothing about the Knights Templar and their nefarious plot, decided to rebel upon Alex ****"****Zeus****"**** Mercer, eventually getting strong enough to eat Alex Mercer alive and eradicate the last traces of the DX-111x series from the face of the Earth soon after. ([PROTOTYPE 2])**

**After the two games, the rest of Humanity, including the backwards United Nations, partially controlled by the Knights Templar, issued a total ban on genetic engineering and research, and the existence of the DX-111x series were soon forgotten. Except that the ban was far from perfect. Cerberus, believing that the only way Humanity could ever escape the stronghold of Earth and it****'****s Ecosystems was through genetic engineering (And partially as a plan against the soon-will-be take-over of the World by the Knights Templar using the Pieces of Eden), secretly developed upon their own sample of DX-1119DEF, removing the Hive Mind aspect, increasing the chance of successful Evolved creation and solving the issue surrounding reproduction of the Evolved once one have been successfully converted. (See Dark Forest- A Black, Viral Fate for the technical details about how they managed to do this.)**

**However, it was already too late- just as the Cerberus distributed their first iteration of Blacklight, DFEV L2 toward their own personnel, the Knights Templar activated the Pieces of Eden, eradicating free will and permanently enthroned them as the leader of a unified world government known as the Systems Alliance. Seeing no other option, the Cerberus Evolved, taking advantage of the hyper-adaptability of their new bodies, started a century-long infiltration plan toward every aspect of the Systems Alliance****'****s society. ** **First reviving the dismantled SpaceX company by turning the company CEO, an Assassin named Elon ****"****Tesla****"**** Musk into an Evolved and replacing the rest of the company with clones, Cerberus finished Spacex****'****s Mars Plan and transported themselves onto Mars, free from interference of the Systems Alliance Government. **

**Then, after knowing that there were a special group of people, termed Assassins, that were immune to the effects of the Pieces of Eden, Cerberus responded by turning them into Evolved and planting them down into critical locations of the Systems Alliance- stealing their technologies and pin-pointing the locations of the Pieces of Eden. (Imagine someone that can already run on walls and climb up buildings like the Assassins suddenly got the super-not-falling-to-your-death-powers of an Evolved...)** **Of Course, the Knights Templar wasn****'****t so stupid to let their arch-nemesis to slip away unaffected by their mind-controlling powers- soon after the Cerberus Escape in 2061, the Knights Templar re-enacted the NASA to start their own plan-the Ares Mars Projects, using part of the technologies of the Forerunners to compete with Cerberus. They discovered the Prothean ruins on the Prometheus Planum- what****'****s officially known as the Most Important Discovery in Human History known by the others in the galaxy as Mass Effect. **

**Cerberus, however, taking advantage of Evolved physiology, quickly responded by stealing Element Zero from the Alliance research facilities, and developed the first Human Biotics after consuming the reddish dust. Red Sand. Or at least what the Systems Alliance and the Citadel called it. It is a type of drug, created with Element Zero in it****'****s composition, that happens to counter the effects of the Pieces of Eden on humans after it****'****s consumption. The Kinghts Templar, knowing this, of course tried as hard as they could to stem the flow of the material. Yet their efforts were futile against the best Infiltrators in the entire multiverse that were the Evolved Assassins meticulously placed down by Cerberus on the Earth.**

**As by year 2081, due to the rampant use of Red Sand, the first ****"****Official****"**** Human Biotics are born. The Element Zero that flows in their veins and laced their nervous systems created a natural barrier against invasive agents and mind control- the Pieces of Eden had no effect on them just like the Assassins or the Evolved, and normal bullets simply bounces off them as they are stopped by an impenetrable barrier of Mass Effect field surrounding their bodies. ****Biotics can run on walls just like the other two sub-races could- by creating a gravitational field that points down the normal vector of the surface they happen to stand on, a Biotic individual could walk on any surface in defiance of gravity, even gliding and dashing in midair through skillful manipulation of the local Reference Frame. Also, by creating a field that counters gravity, Biotics can jump hundreds of meters up into the air, and negate all fall damage by simply decelerating mid-air before their feet touches the ground.**

**The Knights Templar was ultimately defeated as all the Pieces of Eden, formerly used by the Systems Alliance to perform Mind Control on the inhabitants of Earth, were located and destroyed by the joint forces of the Evolved Assassins and the Biotics in the next 50 years... However, as the Mass Relay that leads to the 314 system from ShanXi was opened in year 2138, there were another, far more oppressive, far more hostile-toward-genetic-engineering galactic government for the Cerberus to deal with.**

CODEX: Terminus Systems/ Population

Unlike the peaceful and law-abiding landscape of the Alliance and Citadel Space, the Lawless Terminus Systems are a perfect world for all and every kind of madman and terrorist groups to perform activities and researches that were all but outlawed in the rest of the Galaxy.

The Major Population of the Terminus Systems are comprised of outlaws and discriminated races of the Galaxy- the Krogans, the Quarians, the True Geth, the Vorcha, the Batarians, Mercenaries, and most recently, Cerberus, the Evolved and Human Biotics. All of which are rejected by the rest of the Galaxy due to their innate resistance toward Mind Control- which is more than just a Templar choice. Though members of the Council races are not rare in the Terminus Systems either- Outlaws, after all, exists in every society in every universe as we know.

Currently, the Citadel and the Alliance is wary about the Terminus Systems, but due to the fear of the Migrant Fleet- the largest fleet in the entire Galaxy, and due to the fear of the forces of Omega, the Shadow Broker and the recent addition of Shapeshifters and Supermen from the exodus and settlement of Cerberus with these two sub-races of Humanity, none of the "Orthodox" factions in the Galaxy have risked war against them. Though frequent Council patrols regularly dotted the part of the Galaxy.

CODEX: Bio-ships

Despite being created through very different means, Human Biotics and The Evolved share many similarities when it comes to their individual abilities and powers- both have an enhanced melee attack, a long-range manipulation capability, and both have the ability of super-speed, wall-running, gliding, air-dashing and the ability to negate fall damage. The only difference being that while the Evolved does it through tools and appendages created using shapeshifting Biomass, Biotics does it through manipulation of Mass Effect Fields and Gravity. A classic example of Convergent Evolution where two very different approach end up achieving the same functionality.

And it's no wonder that Human Biotics are often seen traveling together with Evolved in symbiotic clusters known as Bio-ships- Evolved Biomass is used to create a scaffolding and supply Oxygen which Human Biotics can not perform by their own, while Human Biotics supplies all the functionality of a spaceship where Evolved Biomass can't perform.

When forming a Bio-ship, Evolved and Human Biotics are capable, together, performing all the functions a spaceship performs: Propulsion in a vacuum is achieved through a Biotic version of the Tantalus Drive derived from the Air Dash ability of the Human Biotics. Hull, Armor and Life Support is provided by the Biomass of the Evolved forming the scaffolding. Weapon systems are simply the same Biotic and Biomass attacks used by the Individuals themselves. Shielding is provided by Biotic Barriers. Lastly, by replicating certain aspects of the Citadel Mass Effect FTL and the Alcubierrie Drive using Biotic Mass Effect Fields, Bio-Ships are capable of FTL and Relay transits just like normal spaceships.

Although functionally identical to normal Spaceships of similar size and tonnage, Bio-ships are comprised of individuals- which means that they are formed when a group of sufficient numbers of Evolved and Human biotics (Though Asari will work) needs to travel through space, and disassociates once the Individuals have reached their destination and have landed/docked. Members of the non-biotic Council and Alliance races can also hitch a ride on one of these Bio-ships, though it's generally not frequently used except around Omega where the Terminus Systems' traffic rates was the highest. Partly due to the internal environment of such Bio-ships, despite being habitable, generally is not visually and functionally appealing to anyone except for the Individuals that actually comprise the structure.

**Lazarus Station, deep space**

Illusive Man: "We have recovered Commander Shepard's body... But the condition of which... wasn't great."

"Commander Jane F. Shepard, Earthborn, War Hero, a normal Systems-Alliance baseline human that were born during the time of wide-spread Mind-Control by the Knights Templar. There were no evidence of Biotics or Genetic Enhancements anywhere inside her genome... which means that Jane F. Shepard is as dead as a doornail. Which mean that it's impossible for us to revive her as a normal human like before."

Miranda lawson: "Could we just make a clone of her, and send that instead of the original?"

Illusive Man: "No- the reason we need Commander Shepard to be back is because of the Cipher in her mind- the message that the Prothean Beacon left inside her brain that only she could understand. Messages that are critical for unlocking Prothean artifacts and for fighting against the Reaper threat. And also the Collectors. Human Colonies- both the Alliance's and our own, are disappearing. And we will not let this continue unaddressed. Plus, cloning is not possible considering the state of decay- there is not even enough intact genetic material left in her cells that could allow even the most basic form of cloning to take place."

Jacob Taylor: "But... You have just mentioned that Commander Shepard is dead beyond our medical technologies to the hope of revival as a normal human... The DFEV would have worked for this kind of issue right? Since an Evolved is not exactly 'Pure Human'?"

Miranda Lawson: "DFEV/Blacklight was designed for use on Live or recently deceased subjects- the Ribosomes inside the cells must be active for it to work. It can not turn a pile of rotten organic matter back into a human as you wished."

Illusive Man: "And the genetic material of Commander Shepard was already decayed beyond repair."

Jacob Taylor: "But it may still be possible to upload her mind into a synthetic body, since the Cerebral cell membranes were still intact- which means that her mind should be largely preserved."

Illusive Man: "Turning an Organic mind into an A.I... what's the difference between this with the Reapers' practice of 'Canning' organic races into their own shells? Remember that we want Commander Shepard to be revived as an (at least partially) Organic mind/being, and we all know that Prothean mind-coding self-destructs if uploaded into a synthetic intelligence, being their standard contingency plan against Reaper capture right?"

Miranda Lawson: "Which means that we have no more options for reviving Shepard. Or at least until somehow a new technology comes up that lets us accomplish this impossible feat."

Illusive Man: "Maybe you are right. Unless we use that."

Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor: "What's 'that'?"

Illusive Man: "The origin of our kind. What was the ultimate cause of the majority of the events within the century and half before now and what made Cerberus exist as today in the first place. We don't want to use that unless it's absolutely necessary... As using it risk bringing something more insidious and dangerous... back. It's More than just Shepard."

A hologram, displaying some form of container preserved in Liquid Nitrogen within the bowels of the Cronos station around Anadius in the Horsehead Nebula, have replaced the holographic image of the Illusive Man.

The sound of the Illusive Man returned, explaining the object displayed in the hologram while data of it's properties, nature and history popped up around it. "DX-1119E, the Mercer Virus. This was the origin of the two Outbreaks in the New York City and the focus of nearly 80 percent of all the events that happened during the century and a half before now. During our time of origin, I took a small sample of what's left of DX-1119DEF from the shreds of Biomass that were left from the Manhattan Detonation. Then from that on, we stripped it of it's innate DNA content and Hive Mind and created the first version of the DFEV system that are now ingrained within every nucleus of our cells. That sample was still here. Frozen inside the Cerberus HQ within the Cronos station around Anadius. We have safed our own by eliminating the original DX-111x's ability of assimilating memories and the resulting Hive Mind. Removing the risk of stagnation by a lack of innovation. However, it also means that our modern DFEV system is incapable of bringing a dead person back from memories alone."

"A shuttle have been sent from the Cronos station toward Lazarus. A small sample of DX-1119E would soon arrive on that shuttle. Do what you could do, Bring Shepard Back. But remember, DO NOT REPEAT HIS MISTAKE. DO NOT REPEAT HIS MISTAKE. DO NOT REPEAT THE ZEUS MISTAKE!"

**1 year later.**

"We have it."

Jacob Taylor: "DX-1119J or DX-1120. we managed to strip the original DX-1119DEF of it's genetic memories yet still preserve it's ability of assimilating memories as original. If we use it on Shepard now... at least the memories will all be her's."

Miranda Lawson: "But Shepard's genetic material is too damaged to be fixed with this alone. If we use DX-1119J on her then she would not have a definite shape even if we manage to restore his mind to an active state."

Jacob Taylor: "Luckily. The original DX-1119E came with a genetically-encoded appearance within it's genome. Just appearance. We have kept that appearance within DX-1120 while got rid of the memories that came with it. We still couldn't severe the Hive Connection though... It was too integrated with the memory assimilation ability to be removed while keeping the other intact."

Miranda Lawson: "Unless there were still Infected around. Or if Shepard decided to make some Infected after she have been revived. Otherwise, the Hive Connection will be of no effect."

Jacob Taylor: "Though I still recommend playing safe with this issue. Maybe we should do more research on it before we actually put that thing inside Shepard's Body."

**6 months later.**

"Warning: Quarian Cyber-warfare connection detected. Lockdown initiated."

"Warning: Lockdown failing: Firewall integrity reaching 71 percent and falling. Load on Physical Firewall Cluster A, B, C and F: 44 percent and increasing."

"Warning: Firewall to Security mechs at 65 percent and falling, Security Breach imminent."

"Warning: Main Firewall Breached. Secondary System Firewalls holding at 78,76,74,77 percent and falling."

Miranda Lawson: "We have obfuscated the Hive Connection so that it won't connect to anywhere or anything if accidentally activated... Not a permanent solution but we have to use it right now- the Suit Rats have breached into the station, and they are after Shepard!"

Putting a manual lock on the gateway that leads to the operation room where Shepard's body have been on for nearly a two years, Miranda Lawson took out a syringe and injected the orange liquid into the dead body, before leaving through a maintenance tunnel and latched the door.

**The Awakening**

Jane F. Shepard woke up on the operating table, confused as she saw a pair of hands that wasn't hers- masculine, large hands in sleeves looks like a black leather jacket. Getting off the operation table, Jane F. Shepard heard a voice emanating from what seems to be the facility's broadcasting system.

"This is Miranda Lawson, operative of the Lazarus Station. You should be able to hear me if you are now awake. There is an Omni Tool just beside the table you are currently on- take it and connect to me if you can hear me in the loudspeaker."

Picking up the Omni Tool and wrapped the small wristband around her right wrist, which strangely refused to show up as she tried to pull up the sleeve of the "jacket" she was currently wearing, she called Miranda Lawson.

"This is commander Shepard. Am I supposed to be dead? And what happened to my voice?"

Seeing that the Omni Tool was being picked up and someone is calling her, Miranda Lawson replied: "Yes. You are officially dead for 1 year, 295 days and 4 hours. This station is specifically built for bringing you back to life. As for your voice... it's not important okay?"

Shepard: "Am... I dead? So...what happened in the time when I was dead?"

Sparks start to fly from the seams of the closed door in front of Jane F. Shepard. And before "She" could finish her question, the door was busted open, and what looks like security mechs have rushed inside the door.

"This is Miranda Lawson. Listen, this station is currently Under Attack! The Quarians have breached the station's firewalls, and the Mechs are killing everybody! We need you to get out of there as soon as possible- the Shuttles in the shuttle bay was still operational. I am currently behind a closed door in room 21b. Jacob was locked inside the command bay. The course toward both locations have been uploaded to your Omni Tool. There is a M-505 Pistol just behind you. If you want to stay alive now shoot at the Mechs!"

The security mechs opened fire on Jane F. Shepard, which, surprisingly, did not actually feel a thing. The bullets just passed through "her" body leaving little if any visible wounds, which quickly closed up without a trace. Shepard picked up the Pistol from just beneath the Operating Table, and shot the head off the two Mechs that are currently shooting at her.

"Great. Now you have to go at this route toward Ward 3A- I am in room 21b, which is just beside it. Also, I have detected that you have lost some Biomass- the small bar on the top edge of your Omni Tool display will tell you how much you currently had."

Jane F. Shepard looked at "her" Omni Tool, and discovered that there were a small bar on the top left edge of the display. And the bar wasn't very long.

More security mechs showed up, which Shepard quickly shot down with the pistol. However, in doing so, she got hit a few time more, and the bar on her display became even shorter.

Miranda :"Watch out for your Biomass! If you run out, you will die for a second time! And this time there won't be another Lazarus Project to revive you!"

Shepard: "Biomass? Is it the same as 'Health' displayed on my original Omni Tool in the Alliance? It looks like that I am not able to regenerate it like Health. Miranda, Do you know how I could get more 'Biomass'?"

Miranda: "You get more by consuming organic matter- you will know what I am referring to after I plot a course to the closest source of it. I will now highlight all sources of Organic matter on your Omni Tool display- If it glows red from the screen then it can be consumed. Just get close to the source and think about 'Eat'."

Following the course to "Biomass" plotted by Miranda Lawson, Jane F. Shepard was chilled to the bone as the "Source" was the body of a dead researcher- and it looked like that the rampant Mechs have shot her so much to the point that her entire lower half was gone.

"Miranda, are you sure for that?"

"But the food production facility on the Lazarus Station have been shut down by the invaders-the only sources of Biomass was the bodies of the unlucky researchers that weren't able to evacuate or respond quickly enough when the Mechs were hacked and went rampant. Either you eat the bodies or you run out of Biomass and die."

"I'll try..."

Jane F. Shepard approached the carnage, and as "she" thought about "Eat" when near it, one of her hands, as if by instinct, shot off and stabbed into the body, before what looks like thousands of shimmering, opalescent tendrils emanated from the submerged parts of "her" arm in a weird, fractal-like pattern, covering the entire body before retracting back into "herself", leaving only a small puddle of an unknown fluid and piles of some sort of inorganic materials behind.

Looking at her Omni Tool display, the bar representing "Biomass" have increased in length for a lot. And she could clearly feel herself being much more 'full' and slightly heavier. At least not unnaturally light like before.

Mechs have emerged again. However, as Jane F. Shepard tried to shoot them with the Pistol, it refused to fire.

"Miranda, Why the pistol isn't firing?"

"Shepard- nearly two years is a lot of time for things to change. After your heroic battle with the Geth and Soverign near the Citadel, the Council adopted the Geth invention of Thermal Clips for the small arms of today. It allows soldiers to shoot their weapons more frequently without having to wait for cool-down, just by changing the Thermal Clip like one would change a conventional Clip in the old times. However, if you run out, you won't be able to fire that weapon any further. Look for a spare thermal clip on the mechs- but if you can't find any, I recommend that you use your melee attack."

"What melee attack?"

The mechs get closer, yet no thermal clips to be found. Shepard ducked behind a large crate as the YMIR mech rained mass-accelerator rounds in her direction.

"Just try punch that mech in the face!"

The YMIR mech stopped it's machine gun fire as it started a cool-down cycle. Jane F. Shepard emerged from behind cover, fists clenched as she tried to punch the YMIR mech in the "face". And to her surprise, "her" arms suddenly extended way beyond what humans could, a flash of orange light rippled across "her" arms as the same iridescent material emerged from beneath "her" sleeves and skin, extending "her" arms into long tendrils that struck the "head" of the YMIR mech and seemingly stuck to it. Shepard felt her hands clenching down on the "head" of the YMIR mech, and as she pulled "her" hands back toward "herself", the Tendrils retracted to reform the clothed arms and she found out that she was now holding the severed head of the YMIR mech in her hands. The rest of the YMIR mech quickly exploded as the power reactor within it went supercritical.

Seeing that Room 21b is now right in front of herself, Jane F. Shepard notified Miranda Lawson on her Omni Tool.

The door opened, and the genetically enhanced woman came out from her hiding.

"Cerberus?"

Jane F. Shepard looked at the woman in front of "her", and the emblem of Cerberus could be seen on the chest of her tight-fitting clothing.

Miranda Lawson handed Jane F. Shepard a couple spare Thermal Clips, which Shepard quickly changed out the spent one from "her" pistol.

"Yes. Nearly two years ago, when the Collectors attacked your ship Normandy SR1, your Alliance friends held a memorial for you and your colleagues that have seemingly vanished in that accident. But only memorials. Memorials that can't bring the dead back to life. We knew that you had the key information about the Reapers and a Cipher that could unlock a mean to defeat them. So we spent nearly two years trying to revive you, while the suit-rats that you tried hard to befriend before have completely forget about you, even attacking this station so that they could sell your body to the Collectors for quick credits."

"Miranda, You mentioned about the Collectors. Is is related to my premature awakening, my changed voice and the strange clothing I find myself wearing after I woke up in this facility?"

"Commander Shepard- The Collectors are an entirely different thing. But it can't be said that it is unrelated to what happened to you now. The Collectors were an enigmatic race that came from behind the Omega 4 Relay, where no ships that dared to enter have returned. They did what they are named after- they Collect biological samples and strange things and exchange them for strange Tech. Samples that includes from two Krogans that came from a pair of warring tribes to 6 pairs of Quarians with heterochromatic eyes. The Tech they exchange for are unlike anything we have ever seen within the galaxy- from Particle Beam weapons to Biological armor. All sort of weird stuff on this line. Recently, the Collectors have started to raid Human Colonies- both the Alliance's and Ours. They had a quadruple stranded DNA structure as far as we have recovered from their tech and tissue samples we collected from the detritus that fell from their bodies when they are present for their 'exchange'. And since the only race that had this kind of DNA structure was the Protheans, we need you, the only Human we knew about that had the Cipher that could decode Prothean language, to be resurrected for our battle against them."

"We have to go- Jacob Taylor was still inside the Command Bay, and we need to get him out of there as well."

Miranda: "Plotting course to the Command Bay- we need to go through deck 4. and there were a lot of mechs... luckily, I have the ability Overload. So it'd be relatively painless for the next part of the fight."

**Command Bay. Lazarus Station**

Sparks flies as tendrils shot across the hallway, disabled mechs and broken parts littered deck 4. Jane F. Shepard and Miranda Lawson ran across the empty hallway, absorbing the dead bodies and organic matter that littered the station.

In the Command Bay, Jacob Taylor, a Human Biotic, trapped behind closed doors, watched in horror at the gate in front of him was being cut open- before the door behind him suddenly opened, and a male figure wearing black jacket and hood and a female figure wearing white, tight fitting leather appeared at behind him.

Jacob Taylor: "Thank God that you Miranda and Shepard have came. Let's get out of here."

The gate in front of the three suddenly opened, revealing what appeared to be 2 YMIR mechs and two male Quarians controlling them behind the mechs from behind.

"Scatter!" After shouting out the command, Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor each ran _ONTO_ the walls of the Command Bay. What seems like a shimmering material could be seen flash-forming below Miranda's feet which appeared to adhere to the metal walls of the chamber, while Jacob Taylor could be seen standing from the Ceiling without any external aid- who know how he did it. The YMIR mech opened fire, and the place where Jane F. Shepard was was peppered with mass accelerator rounds that took away Shepard's Biomass at an extremely fast pace. Shepard tried to find cover, but there were nowhere to hide.

As the YMIR mech have downed 1/3 of Jane F Shepard's current Biomass with the dual machine gun on it's arms, Miranda lawson, from behind a raised structure out of the wall, shouted at Shepard: "Run onto the walls! There were cover on the walls!"

Shepard: "What?"

Miranda Lawson: "Just do it!"

Dodging fire from the YMIR mechs, Jane F. Shepard tried to run up the wall- before "she" found out that she was already hanging down from the ceiling on "her" legs, iridescent material emanating from her feet which she couldn't tell whether they were hers which seemingly adhered her feet onto the metal. Seeing an advantage point from top down on one YMIR mech, Jane F. Shepard used her newly found tendril attack on it- which pried the head of the robot right off it's body, causing an explosion that pushed the male Quarian toward an exposed bur in the chaotic room, puncturing his suit and causing brown excrement to spill out as if the Quarian was bleeding. Jacob Taylor used his biotic attack as will- a container inside the room seemingly lifted off the ground without being pushed upon as halos of blue energy wreathed upon it with a beam of something connecting the container with Jacob Taylor's body, which have also been wreathed inside the same halo of blue energy. Jacob Taylor then proceed to swing the container with the beam of energy, and the upper parts of the other male Quarian was smashed into bits by the container hitting his torso, leaving only the legs behind. As the YMIR mech lost it's controller, the large robot deactivated and stowed it's weapons, entering standby.

Miranda Lawson went to the Quarian that were smashed into bits by Jacob Taylor's attack- and the same thing happened as iridescent, fractal-patterned tendrils emanated from her body and stabbed into what's left of the Quarian, fully enveloping the remains before retracting back into her body, leaving a small puddle of what could only be assumed as Quarian blood and bits of shredded rubber and plastic behind.

"Commander Shepard- I recommend consuming the other Quarian so you could get his memories and the exact planning behind the attack. You have appeared to lose a lot of Biomass as well- I recommend restocking right now."

Jane F. Shepard: "Why you can't do this by yourself? Also, what exactly I have been turned into after this 'Lazarus project'?"

Miranda Lawson: "I know that you have already knew that your new body had the abilities similar to ours- but it was different. We used a dangerous, forbidden technique when creating this body you are currently in and reviving you, which means that you are the only person we know that can actually assimilate memories when consuming living subjects."

The impaled Quarian let out a garbled slur, as what could only be assumed as blood have filled his oral cavity under the mask. None of the translators of the three was able to translate that last voice.

Jacob Taylor: "That Quarian's suit have been punctured anyway. If you don't consume him he will die soon after- We won't be able to interrogate him or let he go. And we have to know how exactly these Quarians have to do with the Collectors and the Reapers."

Jane F. Shepard: "Fine. I would try."

Jane F. Shepard approached the dying Quarian, laid a hand on to his body, and thought about "eat". Iridescent tendrils extended from "her" hand in a fractal pattern, and the Quarian was soon erased from existence- absorbed into Shepard's body as the tendrils are retracted back into "herself". Then, Jane F. Shepard remembered something. The Quarian's memories. Only the most recent memories was available. Though critical information was clearly there. Shadow Broker. The attacking Quarians were on a mission to take her body and send her back to his lair. The Hacking module they used in this attack was not created by the Quarians themselves- it was in stead provided to the strike team by the Shadow Broker's agents that met them. The Code on that module is eerily familiar- the Prothean Cipher in her mind tells that it was partially of Reaper in origin. Then the Biomass of the Quarian was quickly digested and absorbed into Shepard's body, the unnecessary Nitrogen and Water removed through metabolic processes, and the rest added to "Her" Biomass reserves.

Shepard's Omni Tool Display now displays an additional blue bar at the end of the bar for "Biomass".

"Miranda and Jacob, I think I found it. The Quarian attack was orchestrated by the Shadow Broker- and Reaper Codes was involved. They were after my body- and luckily I woke up before they could accomplish their goal."

Miranda Lawson: "We need to get to the shuttle bay- the Station is now under complete control of the attackers- and we need to evacuate the station as soon as possible. I have plotted a course to Shuttle Bay 2C, which goes from ... to ..."

Shepard: "Any way, why this thing is on the Biomass meter on my Omni Tool?"

Miranda Lawson: "It means that your Biomass reserves is above critical- you can now use some of the more special abilities that you may get afterward. Right now, it simply means that you have more than full health than usual, and it could be used to revive/recharge your team-mates should they are downed, or needs Biomass desperately."

Biotic energy, shots and tendrils rocked through the corridor on Deck 2, as the three rushed toward the shuttle bay. The now leader-less mechs came down effortlessly as they are either shot in the head, smashed by objects animated through Jacob's Biotics, or is torn apart by Shepard and Miranda's Tendril attacks and plain ol' fists and feet.

However, as Shepard, Miranda and Jacob entered a room just before the shuttle bay, Jane F. Shepard found a familiar face- Dr. Chakwas, the Medic of Normandy SR1. She looks downed, but still alive.

Shepard: "There is a survivor! And we have to get her out of here."

Miranda Lawson: "It looks like Dr Chakwas have somehow survived the attack- but she is out of Biomass! Bring up the skill menu on your Omni Tool, and select 'Transfer Biomass/ Revive' while being near her. You should have critical Biomass reserves- which means that you got one chance of bringing Dr. Chakwas back on her feet and evacuate her with us."

Selecting "Transfer Biomass/ Revive" on "her" Omni Tool and aimed the targeting cursor at Dr. Chakwas, Jane F. Shepard discovered that a small tendril have extended from "her" feet, and connected to the woman on the ground. Jane F. Shepard felt "her" body getting slightly lighter as the blue bar at the end of Shepard's Biomass meter have disappeared. After the progress bar on Shepard's Omni Tool reached completion, Dr Chakwas gets back up on her feet as the tendril connecting to her body retracts into Shepard's body.

Dr. Chakwas: "Thank you for saving me- we were under attack by our own mechs and I was shot down before the researchers could evacuate. I am lucky as they don't seem to target anything that didn't move... but the other researchers were brutally murdered- shot repeatedly until they were nothing more than shredded piles of dead meat. It looks like that the attackers knew about the nature of Cerberus well. Or it's that they are just skilled at dealing with presence of Evolved and Biotic Humans in the Terminus Systems in general. You know, the only Humans that had the basic ability of surviving in the monstrosity-filled Terminus must be themselves monstrosities."

"Any way. We are close to the shuttle bay- we could evacuate soon."

A shuttle left the Lazarus Station, carrying the newly revived, but still Confused Jane F. Shepard, Miranda Lawson, Jacob Taylor and Dr. Chakwas away from the mechs-and-quarian infested space station.

CODEX: Humans: divided

Since the opening of the 314 Mass Relay that leads to Citadel space and the larger galaxy, both the Systems Alliance and the Cerberus have saw opportunity of expanding and getting away from each other. The Systems Alliance, due to arriving right next to the Turian 27th Patrol Fleet when they opened the Mass relay in ShanXi system, established Peaceful First Contact with the Citadel after convincing that they were a new race that stumbled upon Citadel space after opening their Mass relay that leads to the wider galaxy. Something that is not explicitly forbidden by Citadel Law. The Submissive Knights Templar soon surrendered their full political control toward the Citadel Council, showing that they have banned both Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Engineering even before First Contact, earned an embassy place on the Citadel and was registered as a "minor race" on the Citadel version of the Codex.

However, Cerberus, which have been developing Genetic Engineering secretly, after seeing the Council's galaxy map and Codex displaying nearly half of the entire Galaxy as being outside Council and Alliance Law, mobilized their entire population- both Cerberus Evolved and Biotic Humans, into the Terminus Systems. The DFEV agent was put up as an open source formula on the numerous piracy websites and black markets in the Terminus systems and on Omega, so does the formulation of Red Sand- an Element Zero-containing drug that was responsible for the creation of the first "Pure" Human Biotics.

And the tactic worked- as the Mind Control ability of the Pieces of Eden was limited in range, Humans that travel near the Citadel and the Terminus become temporarily outside the Mind Control range of the Systems Alliance Government. And in doing so, many became Outlaws through both the innate allure of Opportunity that lies in every place of Anarchy and through skillful manipulation by the Cerberus's media outlets and propaganda agents. Once entered the Terminus Systems, the promise of great Power and immunity toward Templar Mind Control that is achieved through the use of the open-source DFEV agent and the Red Sand Biotic drug became irresistible to a Human that may soon lose his/her hard-earned Free Will again if nothing was done right now.

In order to fight the Templar Monster, Cerberus created their own Monsters. And Humanity have been officially divided into three factions- Baseline, Evolved and Biotics. The Assassins, the ancient faction that fought hard to resist the Knights Templar's plot to control everything, joined Cerberus almost as soon as they found out the truth and entered the Galaxy's Wild West. And By the year 2141, the Assassins, now Enhanced with both Viral and Eezo powers, waged a hidden war against the Systems Alliance that ends in the destruction of the Pieces of Eden and the removal of the Knights Templar from the seat of power in the Systems Alliance.

However, as Council Law have already infiltrated every aspect of the life of a Baseline Human inside Alliance Space, Even as the effects of Mind Control is no longer present upon the Baseline Humans of the Systems Alliance, the extreme social and political inertia that was left by the Knights Templar on the Structure of Power of the Systems Alliance is not going to go away very soon...

The balance of politics and powers have been shifted as Outlaws and Defiants started to appear within the Baseline Alliance faction and escaped Council Law to the Terminus systems, many joining the two new factions through chance or choice- but only time would tell the true victors of this 5144-year-old war.

CODEX: Human blood

Due to the technological nature of the Evolved and the Biotic Factions, all three Human factions bleed differently when they were injured/hit.

Red, the color of Baseline Human Blood, is in fact a rare occurrence within the galaxy that is only shared with the Drell- Batarians bleed brown, Asari bleed purple, Turiand bleed Blue, Salarians bleet green, Quarians bleed brown(due to their "blood" being excrement stored within their suits), Hanar bleeds pink, Vorcha and Krogans bleed yellow while Geth bleed white.

Due to the nature of Human Biotics (being the result of Baseline Humans being saturated with the chemical known as Red Sand in utero and during childhood), their Eezo-saturated internal fluids is a deep crimson color that displays a vivid cyan luminescence in low light, same as unrefined Element Zero.

Evolved does not have blood that carries oxygen the same way as the other races does- but they can lose Biomass if struck with sufficient force, which is a black color that glows brightly orange when under low light, resembling molten lava.

**Shuttle to Normandy SR2 Construction Site**

Jane F. Shepard: "We have left the Lazarus Station- However, you still didn't explain everything that happened to me during these years- like what happened to my skin color and height and voice- in fact, I don't even think that this body is my own. And why did I gain the abilities of the monsters that roams the Terminus systems. What you Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor really are? What am I now? How am I being able to talk with you in the first place since I should be dead for a long, long, time?"

Miranda Lawson brings up a hologram that displays a small container of something inside what looks like a large, sealed, cryogenic storage container in a large facility. "This. Is the thing that brought you back from the dead. And also the reason why you are stuck in a body that isn't yours- in fact, the appearance you are currently wearing isn't even female." Miranda Lawson pulled out a mirror from storage, and handed it to Jane F. Shepard.

Jane F. Shepard looked into the mirror- and the man in the mirror looked at her. Jane F. Shepard recognized the man in the mirror that was holding the mirror. "Is that ZEUS?" Shepard instinctively backed off from her own image in the mirror, and the piece of polished stainless steel fell onto the ground, ringing as it bounced several times before settling. And from the metal mirror that is now on the ground, Jane F. Shepard could recognize the entire body and the outfit of the man in the mirror, which he could evidently tell being a reflection of her(him?)self. Same clothing and hood. Same hands. Same face. She have been put into the body of Alex "Zeus" Mercer. The monster of New York Zone that was used as an example against Genetic Engineering in every primary school textbook in the Systems Alliance. The textbooks that she was told to believe as stone-hard truth when she was in school. Jane F. Shepard have became the very monster that she was told to hate and avoid from recurring at all cost in the first half of her entire life.

Miranda Lawson: "When we recovered your dead body from competition between the various factions that want your memories and your brain for the Collectors, we initiated the Lazarus Project- there is a Prothean Cipher in your mind that could well be the only key toward resolving the Reaper Threat. So we have to bring you back to life."

"But even at the beginning we have been met with a major road-block. By now you should have guessed the nature of us Cerberus, and basically every Human, or with your Systems Alliance speak, 'Monsters' in the Terminus Systems. Yes. Both Me and my co-director of the Lazarus Project Jacob Taylor were the product of Genetic Engineering."

"I am an Evolved, the result of a Baseline Human or the Cell Culture from one being exposed to an open-source bionanotechnological agent known as DFEV L2+/'Blacklight' first developed and deployed in the terminus markets by Cerberus, which recreates the various functions of the Omni Tool within the Individual at a molecular level. Jacob Taylor is a Biotic- more precisely, a type II biotic, which was the result of a Baseline Human Embryo or Child being exposed to a stabilized preparation of Element Zero known as Red Sand, again first prepared by Cerberus, which saturates their cell membranes and allows the individual to control Mass Effect fields using his/her muscles and nerves at will."

"We intentionally spread these two agents, open sourced and free of charge, toward the Terminus Systems, because both the Evolved and the Biotics are resistant toward Mind Control. The Pieces of Eden that let you believe in the great lie that was the entirety of Systems Alliance Education. We were the only remnants of Free Will when the Knights Templar enslaved the world back in 2019 thanks to the first iteration of the DFEV series, DFEV L2. Or except for the Assassins which were naturally resistant. And while your Alliance was busy grabbing powers and dividing loot in the High Places of the Earth, we went to Mars to escape the madness, before the Knights Templar followed suit. The rest is history like you have learned in your textbooks. Except that, after the Relay 314 Incident and the opening of the wider galaxy toward Human Space, Your useless alliance agreed to become a vassal of the Citadel Council, while we went to the Terminus Systems and amassed our own forces and people. Or the 'Monsters' in the Terminus Systems as called by your defunct government outlets."

"When we first recovered your broken body after your official 'death' after the destruction of Normandy SR1, we thought about exposing your body to the newest DFEV L5 agent that could bring any human remains with an intact DNA genome back to life as a member of our kind with appearance, memories and personality intact... except that your genetic material was damaged beyond recognition due to all the decay and damage your body have sustained during the heated competition for your brain by the various factions in the galaxy."

"So we have to use something that was never meant to be used again. The actual origins of the DFEV and the Evolved. DX-1119DEF, the Mercer Virus that was the root of everything in human history of this entire 130 years. When your Government declared that the last trace of Genetic Engineering have been eradicated from the earth's biosphere, The founder of Cerberus, the Illusive Man, took a small sample of DX-1119DEF from a piece of infected biomass from what's left of Manhattan and, from that, developed the modern DFEV agent that are now found in nearly every Human Individual that roams the Terminus Systems. And basically everyone that works in Cerberus. The original DX-1119DEF possessed a powerful ability- An ability that was extremely useful for the time of being, but extended use of it may result in the irreversible real end to Free Will as we know it. An ability that was immediately removed in all DFEV versions after the first stages of it's development, yet was the only hope for bringing you back to life. It was the ability of assimilating minds and memories from the patterns of the cell membranes of the neurons within a brain that was consumed."

"Knowing the dangers of such an ability of assimilating memories, we took a sample of DX-1119E, wiped it's genetic memories clean and scrambled up the Hive Connection of the original Virus, before applying the result, DX-1119J, alongside with a piece of the original Genome that governs the formation of a functional body since your own Genome was too damaged to be used as a template, to your dead body and hoped for the best. On the end, we managed to bring your mind back to life... albeit in the body of the long-dead original DX-1119DEF Evolved. You should have known whose body it was by now."

Jacob Taylor: "Don't worry- It's just an appearance. You can change it once we figure out how to modify the genetic appearance of a DX-111x series Evolved. In the mean time you may have to get accustomed to this appearance as default for a while, since the appearance/shape-producing mechanism of DX-1119E/J is very different from that of the DFEV we use now. At least your mind is still intact. Welcome Back, Commander Shepard."

The scream of a Woman that was put inside the body of a deceased Man could be heard even through the vacuum of space...


	2. Chapter 2

**Freedom****'****s Progress**

Illusive Man: Before we could safely trust you to be the real Jane F. Shepard, we have an assignment for you. Tali Zorah var Rayya, the Quarian that was one of your first allies in the first Mass Effect Game against Saren Arterius. She was currently on an assignment by the Migrant Fleet to investigate the sudden disappearance of the Alliance Colony of Freedom's Progress. One of the first Systems Alliance's colonies that extends to the Terminus Systems. So this is your next mission and a test that confirms that ZEUS did not reemerge. Find out the reason behind the disappearance before the traces are destroyed. And prove yourself to be the real Shepard by bringing Tali back alive.

**The shuttle have landed on Freedom****'****s Progress.**

Shepard, Miranda and Jacob jumped out of the shuttle and landed on the colony. The shuttle quickly left.

"It's... Strange."

Miranda: "Coarse examination suggest no structural damage or signs of violence anywhere within the Colony. No blood. No bullet-holes. No evidence of DNA or Eezo readings that could suggest what happened to the colonists. It looks like that they. Just. Disappeared."

The lamp-posts above their head was turned own, as if everything were proceeding as usual.

Jacob: "Power and control systems seemed to be intact... Whatever caused the Colonists to disappear must either intentionally spared the Colony's systems, had great Stealth capabilities, or simply had no interest at causing damage to the Colony's infrastructure at all."

The squad of three approached a building. The door seems to have been locked. Though the lock was not complicated- just a unprotected latch that was meant to stop animals from entering. A latch that could be opened with any omni-tool.

Jane F. Shepard quickly interfaced with the lock and the door opened. Inside the room, however, was two MARS mechs and a FENRIS mech. Which quickly responded by shooting at the three. Shepard and Miranda each caught and tore apart one of the MARS mechs using their Tendril attack, and the FENRIS mech was lifted up from it's four feet and smashed against the ceiling into bits by Jacob's K-module.

Shepard: "Why the security mechs were hostile? Why anyone would program them to shoot at anything that moves?"

Jacob turned to the head of the now-smashed FENRIS mech, and pulled it's processor module out of the broken machinery. Accessing the V.I. stored within the module using his Omni Tool, Jacob Taylor told the other two members of the squad.

"It looked like that the mechs were reprogrammed during, or at most immediately after the time where the Colonists disappeared."

"The tampering looked Quarian. It must be the Quarians that were mentioned in the briefing. There is a log left within the V.I.'s files- the Quarian that did the tampering must be either a very bad hacker that didn't remember to wipe the logs after an attack, or was in a rush when he/she did this. The serial number of the Omni Tool that was used for the reprogramming was found in the logs. We could trace the beacon signal of the Omni Tool and find the Quarian."

After a few operations on Jacob's Omni Tool, the general direction of the Quarians they are trying to find was displayed on the Omni Tool interface of all three members of the squad.

Following the beacon signal of the Quarian's Omni Tool, Shepard, Miranda and Jacob set course to find Tali Zorah and the Quarians that was "Investigating" the disappearance of the colony.

CODEX: Powers to the People: G module, K module and S module

Unlike the discipline-and-training based type I Biotics of the citadel which perform their Biotic skills the same way Mages in fantasy settings cast their spells and needs a cybernetic Biotic Amplifier to produce anything that was even remotely useful; The Engineering-and-Programming based Human/Terminus Type II Biotics largely use the following three genetically-encoded "modules" when it comes to using their Biotic skills both as a tool and as a weapon, without a need for an expensive, lethal-if-damaged Biotic Amplifier, or "Amp".

G-module, or Gravity Manipulation:

The G-module, or Gravity/Force module, as suggested by it's name, controls and manipulates Gravity at one or more locations within a certain range. The G-Module passively points the local gravity experienced by the User in the general direction of their feet- which allows a type II biotic to stand , walk and run on any surface regardless of surface orientation or local gravity, negating the need for magnetic boots in microgravity environments. When used actively on oneself, the G-Module also allow the type II Biotic to jump hundreds of meters into the air, "glide" with their bare body and "dash" in midair by simply altering the direction of gravity experienced by the user. When used on a location other than oneself, The G-Module can also be used to create a localized force-field where everything within it is pulled/pushed toward a specific direction- Singularity, Lift, Nova and Shockwave attacks are all based on the G-module.

K-module, or Telekinesis:

The K-Module, or Kinesis module, creates a focused beam of dark energy between the user and the target- it allows the user to be temporarily linked, in the conservation-of-momentum-sense, with any objects of his/her choosing. The K-module can then be used to remotely manipulate the object, pushing/pulling/swinging/reorienting the object while dumping the excess momentum to the user. Just like the Physics Gun from Garry's Mod. When used on oneself, the K-module can be instead used greatly enhance one's physical strength in a way that was similar to Muscle Mass in [PROTOTYPE] or Tendril in [PROTOTYPE 2], or propel oneself at extreme speeds toward a certain direction- Recreating the Biotic melee attack of Type I Biotics and the Biotic Charge ability of Citadel Vanguards. However, since the K-module transfers the excess momentum to the user, if the user have not properly seated/secured himself/herself to a fixed location/object, the K-module can wind up moving the user instead of the target. The K-module can also be used as a grappling device, similar to the Web-Slingers in the game Speder-Man.

S-module, or Stasis:

The S-module, or Stasis/Shield module, is used for protection- the S-module works by creating a local reference frame in it's range of effect, where all external forces and acceleration are applied uniformly to everything inside the spacio-temporal continuum within said reference frame. When used near the User himself/herself, the S-module passively creates an impenetrable barrier against all manner of force and projectile attacks that is not mentally approved by the user, deflecting projectile/slicing attacks and negating fall/blunt force damage in the same way the passive Biotic Barriers of Citadel Biotics works. The S-module can also be used on other objects- and depending upon the nature of the object and the precise shape of the local reference frame created, could be either used to create a defensive barrier/force field around a location, or be used offensively to trap a target in stasis. Unlike Kinetic Barriers, the Biotic Barriers created using the S-module are two-ways, and can not be configured to only let through attacks from one direction while blocking attacks from the other direction. The S-module can be used to recreate the Stasis and Barrier ability of Citadel Sentinels.

**Command Center, Freedom****'****s Progress**

The Beacon Signal of the Quarian's Omni Tool is close-and Shepard's squad was met with closed doors and a bunch of rocket-launcher drones landing on top of the structure. The drones pelted the squad with rockets- which means that the members of the squad have to be in constant motion in order to not get hit by one. Shepard attempted to use the same Tendril attack on the drones- before "She" realized that she still had the M-505 "Predator" pistol on "her"(him)self. A few precision shots took out the shields of the drones, and the drones themselves fell to the ground as the anti-gravity fields failed. Miranda Lawson, however, simply used Overload on the other drones- the burst of electrical discharges broke down their internal circuits, and the drones exploded into a series of fireballs and shrapnels.

The squad arrived at the door- which have been locked by whatever kind of security software the Quarians have put down.

Jacob: "The door have been locked with more than just a latch- and the encryption was nearly perfect. We would have to bypass the security processor and mechanisms to actuate the locking mechanism directly. This is a schematic of the internal circuitry of the door's locking mechanism- Shepard, use your Omni Tool to connect the power rails to the actuators, bypass the security mechanism."

5 minutes later, after a few failed attempts, Shepard succeeded in using the localized mass effect fields of "her" Omni Tool to push one of the power rail wires onto the Actuator's power supply. And the door opened, revealing three Quarians and what appeared to be two YMIR mechs.

The two male Quarians quickly assumed battle position, saying "No Mercy to Cerberus agents!", before Shepard, still wearing Alex "ZEUS" Mercer's appearance, called out "Tali".

And the squad of three was pelted at with even more bullets...

However, as the squad desperate to dodge fire, announcing non-hostility using the loudspeaker function on Jacob's Omni Tool, Jane F. Shepard put together a file containing "Her" SPECTRE codes, as well as a few secret photos about her romance with Garrus Vakarian during their quest against Sarens and other private information that only Tali and Shepard know with each other, and sent said file to Tali Zorah var Rayya.

Tali's fire became even faster and more powerful... Before she ran out of Thermal Clips and heard that hooded male Human speaking to her in Khleesh: "I'm Shepard!"

Tali: "Talo and Ferrule, Stop. I have to confirm that 'Shepard' was in deed real."

Seeing that the Quarians have stopped fire, Jane F. Shepard leaped off "Her" current position, and landed in front of Tali.

Tali: "Alex?"

Shepard: "No, I am Shepard! Your second best friend and the one who actually saved you during our first encounter at Chora's Den when I first learned about you possibly having evidence against Saren with Garrus."

Tali: "Shepard is dead. I know about it the soon as the Normandy SR1 was attacked and crashed on Alchera in the Amada system."

Shepard: "And I am the only one who didn't have the chance to escape after getting everyone, including Joker, into the Escape Pods. I was the only one who failed to leave before the Normandy was shot again and blows up."

Tali: "I still won't trust you- In fact even if you just turned into the dead Commander I would still not trust you. You are Human and I met you in a location in the Terminus Systems- And every human in Terminus I have ever met is either a Biotic like the black male Cerberus Agent behind you or an Evolved like yourself and the white Cerberus woman in front of you. You are not Biotic- which means that you must be the Evolved that have consumed Shepard's body and got her memories from the Commander. I Know You, ZEUS."

Shepard: "No- Evolved can only get the most recent memories from anyone they consume- less than a single day of memories as well as basic skills like language. You know very well about it. My original body was found by Cerberus and the time I woke up from death I was stuck inside this body."

Tali: "Maybe... I didn't know of any Evolved who can remember something so early in their Victims' life before consumption. But there is still the last test for you. Your d**k is as short as my little toe."

Shepard: "?"

Tali: "Welcome Back, Commander."

However, just as the three Quarians confirmed that the male Evolved in front of them was in deed Jane F. Shepard, the two YMIR mechs activated unexpectedly- and Ferrule was shot with a rocket in the waist. Brown excrement flowed out of the ruptured suit, and the male Quarian slumped to the ground- Ferrule's inside have been pulverized by the force of the explosion even before the body hits the ground.

Tali: "Take Cover!"

Shepard: "Aren't we settled? Why the mechs were still attacking?"

Talo: "The mechs were programmed to follow it's last orders- and that order wasn't issued by any one of us!"

The five "people": two Quarians, two Evolved and one type II Biotic, all scattered and hid behind the various crates and boxes on the small square in front of the Command Complex.

However, to the horror of the two Quarians- as the mechs fired onto the crates, the crates turned out to be Fragile: the mass accelerator rounds effortlessly tore through the crates, leaving the party little time to dodge. Pistol and assault rifle fire hit the two YMIR mechs- but it was not enough.

However, as other MARS mechs and FENRIS mechs entered the battlefield, Jacob Taylor raised an evil grin on his face.

Using his S-module, Jacob Taylor formed a spherical barrier around himself, of which Tali and Talo quickly hid behind to dodge fire from the YMIR mechs; and advanced, slowly and steadily, toward the MARS and FENRIS mechs that have came out from behind the two YMIR mechs. Shepard and Miranda have already ran up the walls surrounding the small square, and some parts of the YMIR mechs' armor was evidently dent or ripped off as the two Evolved struck them repeatedly with their Tendril attack, pulling off a piece of the armor plating each time Shepard or Miranda have scored a hit. Approaching one of the incoming FENRIS mechs, Jacob Taylor used his K-module to lift the FENRIS mech off the ground-and smashed it onto the ground repeatedly until the small dog-shaped robot was completely disassembled. Jacob approached the still-active power core of the now-disintegrated FENRIS mech, putting the power core within range of the spherical S-barrier around him, and picked up the core. With a K-enhanced clench, the power core is ripped apart by Jacob Taylor using his bare hand, the Element Zero within it spilled out from the remains, and was seemingly absorbed into Jacob's body.

"One."

Using the same process, Jacob Taylor approached, torn apart and absorbed the other three FENRIS mechs and two MARS mechs, blue energy seemingly crackled around his being. The barrier disappeared, before a concentrated beam of unimaginably bright, cyan-blue energy bursts out from the front side of Jacob's body. "Critical Radiation", the type II Biotics' answer to the "Critical Pain" attack of the Evolved, works by destabilizing the excess amount of Element Zero within one's body once the Biotic individual is sufficiently well 'fed' and channeling the resulting flux of beta radiation and neutrinos toward a general direction with a mutated process using the K-module, bathed the two YMIR mechs in front of Jacob Taylor in a shower of ionizing radiation that was equivalent of being right next to a Mass Relay when it was destroyed and explodes. After expending the super-critical amount of Element Zero he accumulated from ripping apart and "consuming" the FENRIS and MARS mechs, the powerful beam of energy subsides, and Jacob Taylor have seemingly returned to his normal state- except that where the two YMIR mechs used to stand, now only the legs of the mechs have remained- and a hole have been punched straight through the buildings in front of the line of attack. The matter that comprised the bodies of the YMIR mechs and the part of the walls that were caught in the beam have been completely ionized and turned into a cloud of plasma that quickly dissipated.

Tali: "What-"

Shepard: "Nice Move!"

Miranda: "I have detected the beacon signal from the unknown Quarian that have reprogrammed the security mechs from somewhere inside the hole Jacob have made."

Talo: "Hope that it wasn't coming from a severed hand that survived the blast with the rest of him getting vaporized..."

Jacob: "I'm not sure."

**Cargo Docks, Crane Control Building with a hole through it.**

Veetor: "Monsters outside... must hide. Must hide. Programming mechs to defend myself... must defend myself with all cost..."

Tali: "Veetor!"

Veetor: "Monsters have find me... Monsters have find me... Not a monster?"

Shepard: "Who's that?"

Talo: "It's Veetor. He was on his pilgrimage at Freedom's Progress when the attack came. Veetor, tell us what happened."

Veetor: "The monsters came from the sky- And there were the swarms... they stuns anyone who were caught in their vicinity. And then... they took out pods... just like this... and they took everyone."

Veetor brings up a footage of the attack on one of the screens in front of him. Swarms of what looked like small robots were seen on the screen. The Human colonists- which were Baseline as Freedom's Progress was an Alliance colony, ran from the swarms, but were quickly frozen in place as the swarms hit them and seemingly suspended them in some sort of Stasis field. Then the Collectors came. Each with pods that floated behind them, each took one of the frozen-in-place colonists, and shoved them into the pods. Then there was nothing as the Collectors left with their pods.

Jacob: "Swarms likely of a kind of microscopic drone. Stuns Baseline Humans with what appeared to be either a Neurotoxin or a kind of Stasis field. Dark energy readings suggest the second being most likely. The Collectors were behind this... and no wonder why there were no Evolved survivors, or why Veetor managed to escape."

Miranda: "Biomass can not be used to counter the effect of a Stasis field- they are fundamentally two different things. Quarian suit appears to block Swarm methods of targeting and detection- Or the Collectors were simply not interested in taking the lone Quarian."

Jacob: "Running simulations... It appeared that Biotic Barriers should be able to counter the effects of the Stasis field. If we meet these swarm afterwards, Stay _INSIDE_ my barrier at all time."

**Normandy SR2 Construction Site**

Joker: "Welcome back, Shepard. The Illusive Man debriefed me about Freedom's Progress and your state of being, and saying that the Normandy SR2 is ready to go!"

Shepard: "Why are you working for Cerberus? And why are you standing instead of being on a wheelchair?"

Joker: "A year and a half is enough for a lot of things to happen- I went to Cerberus after someone disclosing to me about that they are trying to bring you back. Plus, they cured my Vrolik Syndrome. It may hurt a lot initially, but I could walk and even run on my feet now."

Shepard: "And also removed your Humanity. A side effect of the DFEV 'Cure' they gave you and possibly me."

Miranda: "Maybe we should introduce yourself to the new Normandy SR-2, Commander."

**Normandy SR2, Dock 2C**

Jeff "Joker" Moreau: "Here she is. Isn't her a beauty? Let me introduce you to the new Normandy we spent the entire year constructing and waiting for you to arrive."

Shepard walked into the CIC of Normandy SR2 from the docking tube connecting the spaceship to the drydock, and was immediately greeted with a blue, holographic projection that popped up on the holodeck on the right side of "her".

S.A.M. : "Hello, my name is SAM. Short for Simulated Adaptive Network. I am in charge of controlling the Normandy's basic function, sensor and electronic warfare capabilities."

Shepard: "Is this a V.I. or an A.I. ?"

S.A.M. : "I am a prototype general artificial intelligence based on the consensus-establishing mechanisms on the Bioships formed when Terminus Humans needed to travel together- My presence allow the Normandy SR2 to operate with the same number of crew as the original Normandy, which would otherwise need more than three times as many crew without my help."

Shepard: "And it looks like that the Terminus Systems really _IS_ a lawless place. As if rampant Genetic Engineering wasn't enough. Cerberus nearly replacing me with a clone (And _STILL_ ended up sticking me inside the body of a long deceased, _Male_ monster). And now what, a functional A.I. which was outlawed everywhere else in the Galaxy. Based on a fricki'n _Hive Mind_ that the Cerberus admit didn't develop themselves. Miranda, Is S.A.M. dangerous?"

S.A.M. : "My main function is to coordinate the mental processes and aid in information transfer between the crew themselves and between the crew and the hardware- In a sense, I am the Collective consensus of the Crew of the Normandy SR-2 when the ship is fully operational. I can not exist without the Organics being present on this ship, and all my thoughts fundamentally came from the Normandy SR-2's inhabitants and Crew members themselves- I can't think of mutiny or pose danger to the ship unless all current Organic inhabitants of the Normandy agree to do so. As long as the Crew was not insane, I am perfectly safe for you and for everyone."

Miranda: "The S.A.M. was based on the coding we found in the genetic code of certain independently-evolving Terminus Evolved and Biotics which apparently developed on their own- It was a repurposed Connection interface of a Terminus Bio-ship that was fitted with it's own quantum computer for better efficiency in the operation of mechanical hardware. A hybrid between a Hive Mind and a Machine Intelligence. As we know that such limited form of Consensus-establishing mechanism did not cause the Terminus Evolved to lose individuality as it's only used for spaceship control. If any, it only ensures that no oppressive authority would develop within the crew of a ship- which increases decision efficiency and allow the otherwise highly Chaotic and Individualistic faction to collaborate when it's absolutely needed. Don't Worry- the S.A.M. is accessed with the ship's standard computer interfaces just like any other computer system. So don't worry about mind-rape when you are actually using it."

CODEX: Bioships: Consensus/Hive Mind

When the plans for collective travel of the Evolved and the type II biotics using temporary structures known as "Bioships" surfaced in the Terminus Systems, a particularly severe issue emerged within the naturally individualistic Evolved and Biotic factions- How could a bunch of individuals, nearly every one having a different directive and will, come along and cooperate in a setting where Cooperation was absolutely necessary which was the crew and command structure of any spaceships, Bioships included? The answer was a primitive, but highly effective system that was partially based on the Geth, which had the same issue of being highly Individualistic by themselves yet needs to collaborate between hundreds to even thousands of individuals just to animate a _SINGLE_ body. By allowing connected Biomass to communicate as fast as they could think, a consensus/compromise could be reached between even the most disagreeing individuals within timescales that are relevant for spaceship operation- within 100s of milliseconds. The tens to hundreds of Individuals that are needed to comprise a Bioship effectively think and work as one, even though each of them still disagreed toward each other on issues other than controlling the Bio-ship right now.

The Consensus system only works when the Biomass of the individuals are joined as in a Bioship or other sort of vehicle/construct the Terminus factions could think of, and only on the issue where collaboration is absolutely needed for the operation of such constructs- once the Bioship/vehicle disassociates and the Biomass disconnects upon arrival, all the Individuals that comprised it soon returns to being Individuals as the Consensus Space disassociates, and whatever disagreements between them would likely remain, even on the issue they have collaborated on just moments ago.


	3. Chapter 3

**Normandy SR2, on route to Omega**

Illusive man: "In order to accumulate the basic strength in fighting the Collectors and the Reapers, we have compiled a detailed list on all the different persons-of-interest which we recommend you to recruit in order to aid in your quest against the Collectors. Here on Omega, we have compiled three persons of interest for you to recruit."

A data file is uploaded onto Shepard's Omni Tool, which she skimmed through. "So. This is the only Baseline Human on Omega- I wonder how he survived in a place where everyone is a monster in one way or another. And a Salarian, named 'Doctor', arrived on Omega just two months ago- One of the braver members of the Council Races who evidently managed to survive and thrive as an Outlaw. Then, this, 'Archangel'. The briefing didn't mention who he is or what it is- Likely some crazed Council member in a futile attempt to bring their concept of justice to the Terminus Systems, let alone Omega."

Illusive Man: "There were Evolved on Omega just like basically everywhere in the Terminus Systems- Remember that nearly every Human in the Terminus Systems are either a Biotic or an Evolved, so be ready to tank in or evade their attacks in case you piss off a few. Remember that you can take the shape of anyone you consume with this body- I recommend you eat and disguise as a member of one of the Xenos while on the station. I still recommend stay low-profiled and do not provoke the station's inhabitants in general. I have marked off a few stronger Evolved on the station- You may be able to take their abilities if you manage to defeat and consume one of them."

Shepard: "So this is a form of real-time communication. But how?"

S.A.M. :"Two reserves of entangled particles are created in the same location and then are separated. One reserve is mounted in the Illusive Man's office, and the other is mounted here on the Normandy. The Illusive Man passes a stream of his particles through a polarizing filter oriented in a way that encodes the information he need to send to us, and by using a pair of crossed polarizing filters on the Normandy, the orientation of his filter could be deduced from the intensity of our particle stream here on the Normandy, allowing information to be transmitted instantly without risk of eavesdropping or being jammed."

Shepard: "The why it is not used everywhere if it's so effective?"

S.A.M. :"Quantum Entanglement Devices needed frequent recharging and can only send one orientation vector at a time. As it is a strictly point-to-point process, fitting a large network with Quantum Entanglement Devices are prohibitively expensive and impractical."

Joker: "We are approaching the Omega sir- The Batarian air traffic controller have approved our request to dock and is guiding us to dock at Dock 11B."

After navigating the corrugated mess of structures comprising most of Omega, The Normandy come to docking at Dock 11B of Omega.

Shepard and Jacob left the Normandy through the extended Docking Tube connecting them to the Station, and to their surprise, the first Person of Interest, "Veteran" Zaeed Massani, was right in front of them. And the Batarian who guided them to Dock 11B just moments ago was being held in his hands by the neck.

Shepard: "What's wrong with him?"

Zaeed: "He was one of the gang members that was responsible for the recent poisoning of Afterlife customers- Aria sent me here to deal with him. Their plot was only revealed after apparently another Human, after complaining about the drinks being served by one of the Batarians was off-taste, sent an analysis result of the contaminated liquor to Aria T' Loak; who immediately realized that the contaminant was a poison that was found in many of the Council Races that have died mysteriously around Afterlife. And since I am Human, she thought that I should be able to deal with the poisoning gang quite easily. Of course I could. Just not in the way Aria expected to do."

(Paragon Choice: Shepard tells Zaeed to put down the Batarian, and then interrogates him for information about the rest of the gang)

(Renegade Choice: Shepard takes the Batarian from Zaeed and consumes him, getting the needed information from the Batarian's recent memories.)

Shepard: "So let's meet this Aria in this 'Afterlife'. I had the Intel we need for you to finish your assignment- and welcome to the Normandy."

**Afterlife, Omega**

\- _Now Playing: Toby Fox-Death by Glamour_ -

Aria T' Loak: "Zaeed Massani- You came back so quickly- I didn't expect you to handle that Batarian so fast."

Zaeed: "Not without help, of course- let me introduce you my latest colleague- Commander Jane F. Shepard. Or, rather, Commander Alex M. Shepard since 'he' was apparently a result of some very unfortunate Cerberus genetic experiment- Like putting a female mind into a male body, according to 'Her' self."

Shepard: "Any way, Cerberus send me here to gather these two critical persons-of-interest in order to aid in the fight against the Collectors. Do you know about this 'Doctor'?"

Aria T' Loak: "Of course I know- There is a plague spreading in residential area 51B, lethal to every race except the Vorcha and the Humans. And just a week ago, some Salarian, likely Ex-STG judging by the suit he wears, claimed that he had the right knowledge and instrument to develop a cure, and set up a small clinic inside the infected area. I just told my security force to quarantine that area so that nothing comes out of it. That Salarian however... By now, I think he should be already dead judged by the lack of any information about his existence coming from the infected area right now."

Jacob Taylor: "Thanks for the intel."

Aria T' Loak: "And now leave from my line of sight and mind your own business- Omega have one and only one rule- Don't F**k With Aria."

As Shepard, Jacob and Zaeed leaves through the back door of Afterlife, Zaeed came across another batarian serving drinks to the customers- and he ordered a drink.

(Paragon Shepard: "I know you- You are the other member of the Batarian gang that was behind the poisoning of Council races around Afterlife. And you nearly poisoned one of my squadmates. To death since he was one of the few Baseline Humans that managed to venture so deep here." Shepard grasped the Batarian on his neck, and held him up above "her" head. "I prefer justice in the usual manner... But it's time to test out some of the new abilities Cerberus have 'Give' me." Iridescent tendrils come out of Shepard's hand, and the Batarian is soon consumed, leaving just a small puddle of brownish fluids behind.)

(Renegade Shepard: "No.", before taking the glass of drink from the counter, held the Batarian up in midair shouting to him "Now Drink." in a threatening tone, and forced the liquid down the Batarian's throat. The Batarian soon collapsed under his own poison.)

Shepard tried to use her "Disguise" ability as recommended by the Illusive Man before coming to Omega, and after a ripple of distortions that coursed through "her" body, Shepard turned into a perfect copy of the Batarian "she" have consumed before.

Shepard: "That's impressive."

Zaeed: "One of the reason that you don't see a Human face here so often despite Omega should be a major hub for both of the two Human Factions in the Terminus Systems. Evolved often use a disguise when near large concentrations of aliens, primarily for blending in. And I believe that the S-Module of type II Biotics could be used to bend the light around an object and make the object, often the user himself/herself, invisible."

A female figure wearing black clothes and hood materialized near Shepard's small squad apparently out of thin air, before disappearing back into invisibility soon after.

**Residential area 51B, Omega**

Blue Suns Mercenary A: "The area is under quarantine- You must stay outside unless under permission by the relevant Authorities."

Blue Suns Mercenary B: "Door closed. ... . " (After examining the party more closely) "You are Humans. Immune to the plague so it's reasonable that someone sent you here in some assignment. But I still have to check for your permission before I can let you in."

Shepard called up her Omni tool and transferred the assignment details and permission file Aria gave "him" in Afterlife, to the mercenary in front of her.

The helmet worn by Blue Suns Mercenary B shifted and collapsed into itself to reveal a somewhat young, male, Human face. "Setting up containment wind blowers...""Zaeed and ZEUS, you can go in- Don't let me lose my job after this."

The door opened, and as an external blower whirled louder and louder, Shepard and Zaeed felt a powerful gust of wind blowing into the Quarantined area- Almost blowing the two into the tunnel in front of them.

Shepard: "If that was a Human, why he was wearing Turian armor?"

Zaeed: "It may be a disguise- Albeit a poorly executed one. Evolved don't like to be in their default appearance when near aliens as it risk breaking anonymity for them. Judged by the face and the technique for using the 'disguise' function he was likely turned when still young- Hence the 'joining the mercenary' part as they need Biomass to grow. And fighting in mercenaries is one of the good ways to get a lot of it. And a lot of different appearances to use as disguise from the enemies."

Shepard: "Let's find this 'Doctor'."

**Blue Suns base-of-operation, Area-51B**

Shepard: "So what's happening here."

Batarian 1: "Your Humans *Cough cough* spread the disease- Only your kind and the Vorcha are immune- And the Vorcha are nothing more than pests- *Cough cough*"

Zaeed: "No- Terminus are just resistant. You know that Evolved and Type II Biotics can't contract any kind of diseases due to their extensive modifications- Traits that are much more older than this plague itself!"

Shepard: "And the Vorcha are naturally immune to most diseases due to their adaptability. So it's not possible to deduce that one was responsible for spreading the disease."

Batarian 1: "*Cough cough* Nomatter what, one must be responsible *Cough cough* Either the Humans or the Vorcha must have been spreading the plague as they are the only ones that won't be hurt by their own bioweapon *Cough Cough*"

Shepard: "He looks quite ill. Maybe bringing him to the 'Doctor' would have the Salarian come out to meet us."

Blue Suns Mercenary 3: "There is Bloodpack activity in the area just in front of the location. If you are to proceed to find the 'Doctor', I recommend dealing with them if encountered."

Blue Suns Mercenary 4: "We will transmit to you a course toward the 'Doctor'. Do your thing and just be careful with the Bloodpack in the way."

CODEX: Krogan: battlemasters

Historically, Krogan Biotics are considered exceedingly rare and unusual, primarily due to a lack of dispersed Eezo concentration on Krogan-occupied worlds and the Oviparous nature of the Krogan race rendering in-utero exposure to Element Zero impossible.

However, since the introduction of Red Sand, and by extension, Human Type II Biotics to the Terminus Systems after the Citadel's official first contact with Humanity in 2138, many of the Krogan factions and mercenaries have saw a new way to create Biotics of their own.

Red Sand, a highly non-polar preparation of Element Zero first invented circa 2069~2075 on Mars, was likely a failed Templar attempt to breed their own Super-Soldiers to tackle Cerberus and the Evolved during the Templar-Cerberus arms race for the occupation of Mars.

Red Sand inserts itself into the cell membranes of Individuals that are inoculated with the material, where it converts the electrical activity of the Cell membranes into localized Mass Effect Fields, bestowing the Individual the ability to manipulate Dark Energy using a combination of Neural and Muscular activity with minimal training.

However, in doing so it also rendered any individuals that was inoculated with it immune to the effects of Mind Control, likely through a combination of disrupting existing Mind-Control fields and blocking external Fields from entering- Which caused the Templars to abandon the research shortly after they discovered that the Super-Soldiers, otherwise known as Type II Biotics, could not be controlled.

Cerberus, however, saw Red Sand's potential in subverting Baseline Humans that were already turned into mindless drones of the Knights Templar, took the research which was brought to them by the first Type II Biotics that escaped the Templar Mars labs after they have been turned, and developed upon it themselves- Cumulating in the creation of the modern version which have been distributed in the entire Galaxy as a Recreational Drug, subverting Mind Control in the Galaxy one Individual at a time.

The Krogans, sees this Biotics-enabling chemical concoction as it was being made open-source and distributed by Cerberus, was among the first alien race that used it on themselves- After all, a Krogan's lifestyle is all about fighting for literally everything and anything ranging from food to fame, which means that any mean that make them stronger in battle was extremely desired.

Major mercenaries, like the Bloodpack, first experimented in creating their own Type II Biotics by injecting Red Sand into the secondary circulatory system of newly-born Krogans- Which worked surprisingly well, if not for the tendency of the Indoctrination-resistant product to escape leaving a hole in the labs' walls. However, through the correct application of Discipline and military training, the mercenaries were nevertheless successful in making Biotic Super-Soldiers that fights for them.

The Krogan Battlemasters- Stronger than an Evolved, more biotically powerful than an Asari, and regenerate their injuries as fast as... well, a Krogan, was the Bloodpack solution of a problem that even the Knights Templar have abandoned due to issues in Control. Trained extensively in the most inhospitable Death-worlds and implanted with the most advanced Biotic Amplifiers of the Citadel powered by Microfusion instead of mere metabolism, coupled with the Blood Rage ability of the Krogan race (which also happen to greatly enhance the powers of Krogan Type II Biotics), Battlemasters are the perfect killing machine for any Mercenaries that had the time and money to raise them from scratch... As these psychopathic killers appear to be loyal to one and only one faction from birth to death, across their 1000-or-so years lifespan.

**Plague Wards- Area 51B**

Zaeed: "Bloodpack!"

As the door in front of Shepard, Zaeed and the Blue Suns opened to reveal a large alley, several varrens and Vorchas have emerged.

Shepard: "What's your 'own method', Zaeed?"

Zaeed pulled his shotgun- a modified Alliance M-303 "Claymore" from a magnetic patch on the back of his armor, aimed at the general direction of two of the varrens coming toward Shepard and the Blue Suns, and pulled the trigger. Within a few milliseconds, the small charge of element zero behind a pile of metal fragments within the chamber of the shotgun destabilized, creating a spray of rapidly-expanding beta particles that propelled the fragments to nearly 3.5 percent the speed of light, fragments which punched several brilliant trails of fusion reactions into the air before hitting the varrens dead-on, blasting them into bloodied pieces and sprays of red blood as the unshielded tissue is turned into several localized clouds of superheated plasma where the fragments collided. Blood that is quite unusual for non-earth-originated lifeforms in the Galaxy.

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 2: "That's how a real soldier fight!"

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 1: "An Elephant Gun? How did he get that?"

The Vorcha came- Several of them carrying shotguns and rocket launchers, while another half of them was equipped with what seems to be flamethrowers with large tanks on their back. Which they starts to shoot at the Blue Suns and Shepard's party even before they are in-range. Purple and orange ionized flames lit up the crowded compartment.

The Turians start to shoot at the Vorcha with assault rifles, with remarkable accuracy. Several of the Vorcha have been hit with the Turians' bullets, but apart from staggering a bit before moving on, the bullets did little to them as the flesh of the shot Vorcha knitted itself back together.

Zaeed: "Vorcha are self-healing! Shoot at the tanks!"

Miranda: "Shepard- I could see Zaeed killing a few varren near you from your Omni Tool camera- I recommend consuming one of them to obtain it's gene for hardened claws. Once you obtain the ability, use it to rip the vorcha into pieces smaller than your head, or they will grow back!"

Hearing Zaeed taking to them, the two Turians aimed their Phaeston assault riffles to the tanks on the back of one of the flamethrower-bearing Vorcha, and with a well-aimed shot, the tank explodes in a violent explosion of purple-and-orange plasma as the helium-3 stored within is ignited by the impact, blowing the Vorcha and several around it into charred pieces- No growing back from that.

Shepard used her tendril attack to pull the front half of one of the killed varren toward "him", tendrils emerge from one of his arms and enveloped the remain, before the piece of dead varren is broken down and absorbed into Shepard's body.

"Hope it's fresh..."

Shapard examined the torrent of genetic information flowing into her mind as the Varren's genome is deconstructed, and finds what she thinks to be the correct fragment- After a torrent of distortions that rippled through the arms of Shepard's ZEUS form, a pair of four-bladed claws, material and texture of which evidently varren in origin, emerged from just above Shepard's hands.

Satisfied of her newly gained weapon, Shepard jets out from her hideout, slicing apart a Vorcha every time her track intersects with one, consuming the remains as (S)he takes no chance of letting one regenerate.

Rockets came from the remaining Vorcha as the leading one recognized the presence of an Evolved in the alley beneath it- Which Shepard have to dodge ((S)he does not have THAT much Biomass to spare!) while Zaeed and the Mercenaries shot down the Vorcha one by one. Which Shepard would have then slice apart and consume to prevent them from coming back up.

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 3 pulled out a sniper rifle- And as the red laser spot locked onto the leading Vorcha, the 20-percent-C projectile turned the head and upper torso of the Vorcha into a flash of glowing plasma, and the rest of the body slumping onto the ground with several large cracks that have started to heal. Given a few minutes, the Vorcha would have grew back it's head and started to summon in more of the Bloodpack again- But before that could happen, Shepard leaped up the balcony and consumed the Vorcha entirely, clearing out the Bloodpack's presence in this part of Residential Area 51B.

"So the Collectors were behind the Plague after all?" Examining the memories of the leading Vorcha, Shepard sent a message toward Miranda about her newest, most disturbing find. Apparently, the Bloodpack made a deal with the Collectors some time about a month before, which they were told to spread a "biochemical chimeric mutation agent" to secluded areas on Omega, which they then promised to exchange any live samples of the Xeno races (any race that is not a Human or a Vorcha) that remained for a large amount of technology and "a chance to greatly influence the wider galaxy".

Following the course plotted by the Blue Suns pack leader that met then before, Shepard, Zaeed and three Turians swiftly went down the alley, turning toward Mordin's clinic at a corner.

And it's at this time, more Varrens, Vorchas, and, noticeably, two heavily armored Krogans appeared in front of them. Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 1 is Shot dead immediately as the Krogan fired his weapon toward the squad, while the remaining four desperately finds places to hide. (A Turian rolling to the side is not exactly that pretty to see... But the Gyroscopic Mass Effect Core within most Turian armor definitely _ALLOWED_ it to happen.)

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 3 primed his sniper rifle and shot the leading Krogan in the head- Before the projectile is blocked by a flash of light and bounced off harmlessly.

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 3: "The Krogans have Shields! Ready Assault rifle fire!"

Zaeed: "Overload!"

A burst of electricity emerging from the leading Krogan flashed through the hordes of Vorcha and varren, killing a varren directly while significantly burning several Vorcha as the bolt from Zaeed's Omni Tool impacted it's target. Assault rifle fire from the two remaining Turians impacted the oversized lizard as the lightning bolts dissipated- And it had no effect.

Shepard: "That's not shields! It's a Biotic Barrier!"

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 2: "They got Battlemasters on site! Retreat!"

Shepard: "I Hope that Jacob is here- S-Modules are impenetrable to non-Biotic based attacks as the Mass Effect fields it produces homogenizes all impulses toward and within it's area of effect. Wait, Impulses. Wait, Mass Effect Fields- Miranda, Patch it up to S.A.M. as I send the readings through!"

Miranda: "Analysis complete- There is a box of refined Element Zero lying just on your left, and Zaeed have the power Incinerate. This is your plan for taking down the threats within the mission are just in front of Mordin's Clinic."

Shepard: "Hold your fire and wait as I signal you to use Incinerate on the Krogan Battlemaster. On my next signal, use your Overload ability on the target I will point out for you on your Omni Tool. Don't ask, just do as I say."

Switching to the Tendril ability, Shepard grabbed the box of refined Element Zero from h[is](er) side and lunged the box toward the Krogan Battlemaster using all h(er)[is] power (s)he could manage.

"Zaeed, Incenerate!"

A flaming projectile containing a large amount of burning, flammable gasses flied toward it's target and exploded, creating a temporary, dazzling fireball right in front of the Krogan as the Eezo-filled box flew inside the Battlemaster's barriers that is momentarily weakened from the distraction created by the fiery explosion, hitting his chest as a bolt of lightning struck the box from the same source the flaming projectile came from.

"Overload!"

As the burst of electricity struck the box containing the refined Element Zero, a powerful, chaotic Mass Effect field is created as the surge of electric charges and discharges plummeted through the material randomly and chaotically. This nascent Mass Effect Field reacted with the S-Module Barrier of the Krogan violently and catastrophically, causing the Element Zero both inside the Krogan's body and in the box to destabilize. Just like when a Warp hits a Singularity. Except that it's now also a Eezo Core Explosion. Just like what happens when a Citadel spaceship is shot through it's core.

"Duck!"

A massive blue fireball appeared in the place where the Krogan and the Box used to be, streams of lightning emanates from the center of the explosion as high-energy beta particles streamed through and shattered every piece of organic matter within a 25-meter radius that is not shielded by thick metal from the inside out. And as the explosion subsides, a powerful singularity have been left at the center of the explosion- Where the Krogan Battlemaster used to be. The other Krogan have been turned into vaporized plasma, the Vorcha shattered into thousands of bloodied pieces while not even a trace of the varrens that were brought with the Bloodpack have been left.

The debris from the powerful explosion, boxes, chairs, rocks, dead & broken pieces of bodies and pieces of the metallic walls and flooring of the chamber the Bloodpack used to be in, are sucked violently into the distorted sphere as the singularity grew larger and larger, eventually destabilizing and created another fiery, plasma-filled explosion that shook Shepard, Zaeed and the two Turians from behind the solid metal walls they are using as cover.

Zaeed: "That's almost a Gigadevastator! Except that Biotics are not used in this explosion. Impressive."

Shepard: "I told you to duck! Though the mechanisms of the explosions are the same."

**Mordin****'****s Clinic**

"Patient 557 have stabilized. Have to find the other survivors... time is running out and Bloodpack is in the way... Security mechs numbers should still defend this location for a while, evacuation plans and new Clinic locations have been devised..."

"Hey, who are you?"

Shepard: "Mordin?"

The elder Salarian, with one of the cranial horns missing and obviously a lot of scars on his face, turned around, and sees two male Humans looking at him.

Mordin: "Not Bloodpack. Not registered either in the Plague wards or Residential Area 51. You must be from the outside. Is the Quarantine finished or someone sent you here?"

Shepard: "I'm Commander Jane Shepard of the Cerberus Lazarus Project/Normandy SR2. We are currently looking for someone called 'The Doctor' to help us defeat the Collectors. Do you know where the 'Doctor' is or who he is?"

Mordin: "I'm Doctor Mordin Solus. And I am the 'Doctor' you are looking for. How did you get here? The Bloodpack have blocked off all the routes toward here."

Zaeed: "Blew our way here."

Shepard: "Got to eat a lot of Vorcha in the way here. They tastes nauseating."

Miranda: "I have to conduct another psychological test on you to make sure that ZEUS don't reemerge. May I take some of your time for you to answer a few questions for me?"

Shepard: "You spying on me all the time?"

S.A.M.: "Correct. All Lazarus Project Omni Tools are voice-recorded for evaluation and emergency acknowledgement purposes. If the Commander of a ground squad is in trouble, the crew can assist them in real time without the Commander or the squad having to manually call emergency first. Records show that the majority of Colonist loss in the wider galaxy happens when dialing on the Omni Tool for an emergency call."

Shepard: "Thanks for saving my life in my way up there. That Eezo+Overload idea is brilliant. Just don't share my Omni Tool stream to the rest of the Normandy or the Galaxy, okay?"

Mordin: "I believe that I could join you in defeating the collectors- I have message from an Evolved about they creating the Plague so I want revenge too. However, before I can leave with you, the Plague must be cured first."

Shepard: "How?"

Mordin: "The Plague is a sub-nanoscopic agent of presumably Collector origin- The agent appears to randomly activate the dormant sequences within victim DNA upon contact, which the resulting mutation causes wide-spread tissue damage and loss of function within affected tissue, primarily the lungs and other respiratory organs, resulting in respiratory failure and death. Agent likely created to search for certain genetic traits within the genome of the general populace. Human resistance stem from their lack of such sequences within their genome, rendering the agent useless."

Shepard: "Sound familiar... How you plan on curing the disease?"

Mordin: "For every nanoparticle there is an antibody against said particle- The Pathogen appears not to mutate by itself while hypermutating the host cell. I have already cooked up a chemical antibody for the pathogen nanoparticle, which should cement together and destroy the pathogen when encountered in air, on skin or in the body of an affected individual. It cured my patients well in the lab, but in order to make it work in the entire affected area, a delivery system is needed."

Zaeed: "How?"

Mordin: "The Bloodpack have turned off the central environmental control system in Residential Area 51B after dispersing their pathogen. Just insert the vials of this Cure into the ventilation systems and turn on the fans, and the cure should be scattered toward all of Area 51B, clearing the pathogen from the air and curing all affected individuals."

Turian Blue Suns Mercenary 2: "Then why don't you do it like what you say?"

Mordin: "The area around the Environmental Control Systems are heavily guarded by Bloodpack mercenaries- My mechs can't handle that much enemies and I couldn't get the cure to the ventilation fans without getting killed. Since you and your squad is able to fight a way through the Bloodpack blockade of this area, I think that working with your squad should make the delivery possible."

Shepard: "Welcome aboard- We will have to go to the Blue Suns base-of-operation first. Just to gather more firepower."

**Blue Suns base-of-operation**

Commander Tiberius: "'Doctor' is in bound and Shepard's squad have cleared out a way toward the Environmental Control System- According to the 'Doctor', the Bloodpack was assigned here to protect the Environmental Control System from being activated and prevent the Plague from being disrupted or cured. And the Salarian already have a cure. 10 minutes later, the Blue Suns will stage a final attack against the Bloodpack presence within the Environmental Control System Control Room, while Shepard and Doctor Mordin Solus will deliver the Cure into the air system and activate the ventilation fans. Protect them at all costs."

As the brief debriefing finishes, the group of 26 Mercenaries disembarked the base and advanced toward the Environmental Control Room.

**Area 51B, Environmental Control System Room**

Sparks flies out from doors locked by the Bloodpack as Blue Suns cuts the lock open using industrial plasma-cutters brought by the "heavy"-class Mercenaries that came with Mordin, Zaeed and Shepard.

The doors soon open, and before the Vorcha behind could react, they are shot down one by one. Zaeed brought with him a M-101"Firestorm" flamethrower, alongside with a few other Mercenaries, which incinerated the downed Vorcha as to prevent them from regenerating. Shepard took time to consume the rest of the downed Vorcha and Varren, while Mordin started to look for the control panels for the Ventilation fans.

Mordin: "I found the first control panel!"

Commander Tiberius: "Protect the 'Doctor'!"

Rockets starts to fly toward Shepard and the rest of the Blue Suns, as the four Krogan Battlemasters staged in the room reacted and charged toward Shepard's team.

Leading Krogan: "Fire the rockets! Kill that Human!"

Leading Vorcha: "The Collectors will be very pleased for the body of ZEUS!"

Shepard: "Do you have any Biotics on hand? I really need a helping hand to take down that Battlemaster!"

Commander Tiberius: "Just checking... Human Biotics, no. Citadel Biotics... well, there is an ex-CABAL member registered in this subdivision that is sent here to aid Mordin. She is called Vetra Scendavanius. I have called her to help you there."

The Krogan Battlemaster charged with a blood-filled rage as another two Blue Suns Turians were shot down by the rockets, Shepard barely dodged the next attack (already lost 2/3rd of h(er)[is] Biomass from two previous impacts), consuming a piece of shredded Varren while a purple explosion suddenly exploded from the Krogan's face.

Vetra: "Krogan Barriers Down, Rest of the team, Focus fire on that Battlemaster!"

Shepard: "Wait, Blue Suns had Rockets too? Why don't they tell me before?"

Rockets, shotgun and sniper rifle fire focused on the exposed Krogan, explosions tore the upper half of the Krogan into a fluid-ridden hole, and the rest of the body collapsed onto the ground.

Shepard: "Should I sample some of the fluids for you to analyze and reconstruct the Krogan's genetic structure and history, Miranda? They don't look... natural."

The fluids flowing out of the dead Krogan was red with a bright blue glow, same as refined Element Zero- the same color as the "blood" of Human Type II Biotics as far as what Shepard knows from the Extranet during her early days in the Systems Alliance.

Miranda: "Just ignore it- As far as we know, all Battlemasters are created artificially using Red Sand by the major Krogan factions in the Terminus Systems. Yes. They are Type II Biotics just like the non-Evolved Humans here in the terminus."

Nevertheless, Shepard went to the half-blown Krogan and consumed the remains- including the Eezo-rich fluids within the body. Surprisingly, little of the Krogan's genetic information appeared to bear the modifications common in Human Type II Biotics, and there appears to be an extensive metallic wire network permeating throughout the Krogan's secondary circulatory system. Wires that are identical to that of the biotic Amplifiers used by Citadel Biotics as far as what she knows.

Element Zero extracted by the phagocytes within ZEUS's internal biomass, and Shepard soon had a sizable cache of it stored within h[im](er) available for she to use.

"Okay, let's try replicating that 'Warp' attack on the other Battlemaster on the field."

Mordin: "First Ventilation fan active- Approaching second Control panel."

Rockets flies toward the other corner of the Environmental Control Systems Room as the Bloodpack realized what the other team was doing.

Vorcha leader: "Killll da Salarian!"

Commander Tiberius: "We are taking heavy fire! The Bloodpack have realized what we are actually doing here. Requesting supportive firepower!"

Another Krogan Battlemaster lifted a crate off the ground using his K-module, and flung it toward Mordin's team in an attempt to squash the small team of Mercenaries with the heavy crate.

And the crate was deflected off it's course by a Biotic push from Vetra in midair.

Vetra: "Not letting that happen."

Shepard experimented with a large amount of possible stimulation geometries and neural impulses on the Element Zero she just acquired- auras of Dark Energy envelopes ZEUS's body, shaking and pulsating randomly, until Shepard got the desired effect from the experimentation.

A large, black, sphere appeared in the middle of the horde of Vorcha that were firing rockets at Mordin's team, gravitation from the singularity pulled every one of them into an orbit around itself, while the Rocket Launchers of many of the Vorcha are now ripped off their claws- floating in midair aimlessly and getting flung all over the room.

Shepard: "Shoot at the Rocket Launchers! We need to disable their weapons or else they will just pick them back up once they regenerated."

Commander Tiberius: "Understood. All Units, shoot at the Bloodpack's weapons!"

Zaeed primed a sniper rifle from behind cover, as the other Turians rained assault rifle fire toward the hands of the Vorcha and Krogans- shooting their weapons out of their hands, the impact of the hypervelocity projectiles blasted holes through the delicate machinery and reduced the Bloodpack's weapons into pieces of scrap metal.

"One. Two."

As Zaeed and the Blue Suns shot the rocket launchers off of the Vorcha Rocket Troopers' claws, the number of rockets being fired toward the team have reduced significantly.

Mordin: "Ventilation Fan #2 activated- Two next to go."

As the majority of the Bloodpack are disarmed, Shepard re-summoned his claws, and charged toward the rest of the Bloodpack Mercenaries- Ripping Vorcha and varren to pieces while consuming the critical "core" of the shredded biomass in order to block them from regenerating.

Another warp attack by Vetra, and the head of the second Krogan Battlemaster is shortly blown into a spray of fluid-stained bits by a well-aimed shot from a Blue Suns Sniper.

Zaeed: "Only two Krogan Battlemasters remained- Use biotic attacks to take out their barriers before shooting at their heads with whatever most powerful things you have until they are reduced to debris and pieces, as this is the only way to block their regeneration."

Mordin: "Three Ventilation Fans are now activated- One last to go."

Debris and Crates were thrown all over the place- Another two Mercenaries crushed under the heavy objects thrown by the remaining two Battlemasters, while Mordin's team have entered the control room for the last ventilation fan of Area 51B's Environmental Control System.

Shepard: "Vetra, I have an idea for taking down the last two Battlemasters- but you will have to work together with me in order for it to work."

Vetra: "Sure, what I need to do?"

ZEUS's upper body and arms once again flared up with a purple aura of Biotic energy, and a Singularity forms in the middle of the two remaining Battlemasters. Seeing the Singularity as a signal, Vetra followed the plan with Shepard and induced another Warp field onto the all-attracting Singularity.

As the two Mass Effect fields collided, their effects interacted with each other in a chaotic manner, and the Dark Energy within the fields are released as a torrent of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPS- Irradiating the two Eezo-filled Battlemasters with doses that is more than enough to completely destabilize every bit of the substance within their bodies and cause a massive explosion.

Tendrils of Lightning jets out of the two blue fireballs that were used to be the bodies of the two remaining Battlemasters as sprays of high-energy beta particles ripped through every chemical bond in the body of the two Krogans, the floor beneath them and everything within a 10-m radius, before a massive EMP pulse fried every precision electronic device within the Environmental Control System Room.

Shepard: "Duck!"

The Blue Suns Team barely had enough time to take cover, before the torrent of hot plasma rushed above their heads like a Pyroclastic flow in some Hollywood Disaster Movies, and Shepard, Zaeed and Commander Tiberius' Omni Tool only barely survived the EMP blast as they reached Cover before the explosion reaches them.

Mordin: "All four Ventilation fans now active and online. Shepard, Zaeed, Tiberius, let's get out of here and prepare to deal with some angry Bloodpack!"

Mordin opened the door of the control room he was in- And finds out that the floor on the outside have been replaced with a crater with a pool of glowing, molten materials in the middle.

A torrent of wind have started to blow across the Environmental Control Systems, carrying the Cure throughout the Plague-infested Area 51B. Plague Victims throughout the area started to recover, and the rest of the Bloodpack, situated in area unaffected by Shepard's rampage through the majority of their forces, retreated without a trace as they knew that their mission have failed.

Mordin: "You already finished? That's good. Thank you Shepard. No. Thank for all of you!"

Shepard: "It's welcome aboard this time, finally!"

CODEX: Terminus: Small Arms

After to the introduction of the Evolved and Type II Biotics, genetically engineered super-warriors that each could trump over a small army in Citadel standards, there have been an arms race within the Terminus Systems between the various factions that uses Virus, Drugs and Guns to fight for dominance- Cumulating in the creation of the incredibly powerful, incredibly violent, Modern "Small" arms that are now used extensively throughout the entire northern reaches of the Galaxy.

Modern Terminus-made firearms uses a combination of Chemical, Nuclear and Dark energy in order to achieve projectile velocities that are completely unheard of, even downright ridiculous in Citadel standards. Shots traveling at a speed over 3.5 percent C is the norm for most handheld and assault weapons, while sniper weapons and shotguns regularly exceeding 6 to 10 percent C- Faster than even that of the shots fired from the main gun of a Geth Dreadnought.

Due to the general chaotic nature of the terminus factions, the exact mechanisms of which Terminus small arms achieve such ridiculous velocities varies significantly from model to model. However, the general doctrine of Terminus marksmanship is that no kill is Overkill- Nearly all firearms made by the Terminus Sytems are designed to Shread, Burn or Vaporize as much Biomass as possible upon impact, which makes sense as since the majority of your foes are capable of regenerating from a single cell as long as there is active Biomass available to them.

M-101 "Firestorm" portable plasma thrower ("Flamethrower")

The M-101 "Firestorm" was originally designed by the mining company Eldfell-Ashland Energy as a tool for melting moon rocks for extracting the Helium-3 trapped within- Before the weapons Company Elkoss Combine, finding out it's surprising efficiency against the Rachni during the Rachni Wars of 1510 G.S., which they swiftly purchased the patent from Eldfell-Ashland Energy and made the industrial device man-portable, resulting in the portable flamethrowers that are now used extensively by the mercenaries in the Terminus Systems today, known as the M-101 "Firestorm".

Despite being called a "flamethrower", the M-101 "Firestorm" is actually a miniaturized version of the helium-3 fusion torch thrusters used extensively in Civilian spaceships of the wider galaxy. Inside the weapon, Helium-3 is ignited in a Tantalum-Tungsten-Carbide reaction chamber, where it fuses to create ordinary Helium and two protons per each reaction. The protons are decelerated and recycled as the power source for the Confinement fields and heaters that help ignite and maintain the fusion reaction, while the stream of high-temperature Helium-4 plasma is vented out the front of the device at a high speed- Ionizing the air in the way of the plasma stream and creating a jet of searing hot, 9725.85C/10000K secondary Plasma of mostly Nitrogen, Oxygen and their compounds.

In the original industrial setting, the Plasma jet is injected into a vacuum chamber with the moon rocks, heating the regolith up to extreme temperatures and melting it, thus freeing the Helium-3 trapped inside. When used as a weapon, the plasma stream is vented into the open air, which react with and ionizes it to create the stream of hot plasma, or "flame" you see coming out of the weapons of the various flame-troopers of the Terminus' Mercenaries. "Flames" that are so hot that it can burn through Biomass ignoring most form of kinetic barriers/shielding, being stopped only by the Impenetrable constant barriers created by Type II Biotic S-modules.

M-303 "Claymore" Anti-Protoform Shotgun

When the Systems Alliance joined the C-sec as a vassal of the Turians, the Knights Templar was tasked for making specialized weapons for the other members of the Citadel Races to use for "defense and law-enforcement purposes". Among the many products made by the Systems Alliance during the time period, the M-303 "Claymore" Anti-Protoform Shotgun was purported to be the ultimate solution against the Assassins and the Evolved... Or so did they thought.

Designed for use by Krogan C-sec Enforcers for taking down Evolved during heated battles, the M-303 "Claymore" Anti-Protoform Shotgun have such a high recoil that even the most trained Baseline Humans would break their arms the first time they attempt to fire the weapon.

Despite resembling the other Shotguns available to the wider galaxy, in the Basis, the M-303 "Claymore" operates by a principle that is completely different from the mass-accelerator based weapons of the rest of Citadel space. Instead of using electromagnetic forces to accelerate a frangible projectile which shatters upon leaving the barrel, the M-303 "Claymore" uses the explosive destabilization of a small charge of Element Zero located on the rear end of each batch of small projectiles to accelerate the projectiles to velocities up to 5~6 percent C in a manner that resembles the more conventional firearms of Old Earth- Hence the extreme recoil produced by this weapon.

The high-velocity projectiles shot from the M-303 "Claymore" are designed to vaporize a large amount of Biomass upon impact, through the process of Sputtering- high-velocity particles, like the projectiles of the weapon, can physically break the chemical bonds holding materials together and send the individual atoms flying apart from each other, ignoring all healing process and break through even the best nanocomposite materials producible by Terminus Bioengineering, essentially turning the impacted material/biomass into a puff of hot plasma that can no longer be reused.

Despite being Alliance in origin, the M-303 "Claymore" Anti-Protoform Shotgun is now one of the favorite weapons employed by Krogan mercenary groups in the Terminus Systems- Especially the Bloodpack.

M-570 "Black Widow" Long-range anti-biological sniper rifle

Among the most extreme of all Terminus weaponry, Sniper rifles, which was intended to take out their (self-regenerating-from-a-single-cell) targets in a single shot, are probably among the most destructive man-portable firearms throughout the entire Galaxy.

Originally designed as an Anti-Materials sniper rifle for use by the Geth Elite infiltration units, the Blueprints for the M-570 "Black Widow" was extracted from a surviving data core on a crashed Geth transport vessel in year 2643GS by the Salarian Mercenary group Eclipse, which further improved upon the design using technology derived from both STG and Reaper in origin.

Using blueprints partially decoded from the terrifying Particle Beam/Thanix weapons of the Collectors, the M-570 "Black Widow" uses a process known as FTL Field Collapse Acceleration to accelerate it's projectile to up to 0.15C, 0.23C with the right weapon mods for improving projectile speed&damage.

When the weapon is fired, the projectile is accelerated, electrostatically, inside a mass-lowering field- Just like every other mass accelerator weapon in the entire Galaxy. However, the difference between this and the other forms of Mass Accelerators, is the fact that the field used is so strong, that the projectile is actually accelerated to the speeds traditionally associated with most forms of Civilian FTL drives- up to 25000~30000 times the speed of light while the projectile is still inside the barrel. Once the 0.04-gram projectile leaves the mass-lowering field however, the projectile is instantly decelerated to sublight velocities and the high FTL speed is instead translated into a high Lorentz factor as it reenters Real Space- The same phenomenon experience by a FTL vessel during a Field Collapse mid-transit.

Using FTL Field-Collapse acceleration, the high-speed projectile shot by the M-570 "Black Widow" have enough energy to smash through atomic nuclei- It can damage even Mass Relay or Citadel alloys during an impact, smashing through the enhanced strong/nuclear interactions like a 9mm bullet through a clock. When impacting Biological tissue, the extreme velocities associated with the projectile causes fusion reactions between the Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen nuclei within the material, releasing more than an average of 85GJ of energy per shot, 36GJ if impacting Iron or Strong-interaction Alloys commonly used in most forms of Construction. This energy release is more than enough to vaporize and completely ionize 258.99 kilograms of Biomass even in the worst case scenario, completely negating Regeneration of any kind and making it one of the few weapons that can actually take out an Evolved, Vorcha or Krogan Battlemaster in a single shot.


End file.
